The Legend of Zelda: Dragon Realms
by TopazDragon7
Summary: Many centuries have passed since the legend of the Four Heroes, and Hyrule has since long been gone. The Seven Realms now dominate the land, and man and Dragon live in peace and harmony. A young Hylian is soon to receive his very own Soul Dragon, but darkness lingers in the air, corruption is destined to take place, and a mysterious figure seems to be behind it all.
1. Chapter 1

Part One – Chapter 1

"Long, long ago, an ancient land by the name of Hyrule was shrouded with darkness," began the history teacher, who was currently standing in front of his class of extremely bored-looking boy students. One of said students yawned rather loudly before slamming his head down on his wooden desk. The teacher cleared his throat and pretended he didn't hear that. "An evil sorcerer was the cause of this great despair, forcing the citizens to vanish into their own shadows and join the dark side. It seemed that nothing could stop him while their princess was kidnapped, until four unknown heroes appeared. They combined their strengths and slayed the evil sorcerer, banishing him into the light, only to find that there was an even stronger force behind the sorcerer's resurrection. Ganon, the King of Darkness, revealed himself at last, forcing the heroes to push themselves to their limits. But alas, they succeeded once again. The darkness was removed from Hyrule, and its people celebrated the heroes' victory. However, this victory was short-lived.

"Ganon may have been defeated, but the sorcerer's magic lingered in the earth and air, gradually growing over time. The rising energy drew many unpleasant creatures to the land, and Hyrule could not locate the heroes that had slain the sorcerer and Ganon. The kingdom and its people fell once more at war. Above the many vile creatures that seemed to pour in from nowhere, only one species was intelligent enough to realize the current situation, and so they sided with the Hylians and other friendly races to put an end to the monstrosities. This species was called: Dragons. The Dragons beheld many strange and wonderful powers that helped eliminate any and all threats, and soon peace once again returned. The remaining survivors found the place where the sorcerer's magic was strongest, and, just like the four heroes of legend, combined the Dragons' power and the magic to create what we know as the Seven Dragon Realms. The Dragons and their corresponding companions were dived amongst themselves so as to keep the peace and prevent conflict. Thus, the Realms' elements were born: Fire, Water, Earth, Snow, Desert, Light, and Shadow. Hylians were spread throughout each of the Realms, but other races stuck to their preferred elemental Realm, such as the Zoras in the Water Realm and the Gorons in the Fire and Desert Realms.

"Each Realm has a chosen leader known as a Dragon Whisperer, one who is able to understand all dragons and not just their own. As each of you should know, once you choose your Soul Dragon, you will be able to understand their every roar, growl, and hiss. This is formed by a special bond that binds your souls together once you make contact for the first time. However, this will not happen if the Dragon is aggressive, which leads me to something else I hope you already know. No one, I repeat: NO ONE is to enter the Giants' Sanctuary! The Dragons there are highly untamable, and so entrance is strictly prohibited for your own safety. Each Realm has a Giants' Sanctuary for a reason."

"And what reason is that?" asked the youngest student. The teacher sighed, knowing that this boy was particularly naïve.

"It's also CALLED the Giants' Sanctuary for a reason. Would anyone care to explain why to him?"

The smartest boy in the class raised his hand. "The Dragons in the Giants' Sanctuary are much, much larger than your average Dragon, and are therefore highly dangerous. The Sanctuaries were created to prevent power-hungry Dragons from starting another war against their own kind."

"Yes, well done, Pokot. Now, as I was saying…" The teacher paused to glance at the boy who yawned. "Link, would you PLEASE pay attention!"

The blonde boy's head shot up as soon as the teacher raised his voice.

"Paying attention!" Link said quickly.

"This Historia lesson WILL be part of your final exam, an exam you certainly won't want to fail. If you do, you won't be able to participate in this year's Choosing Ceremony, which will result in no Dragon. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do ALL of you understand?" The whole class replied with a chorus of 'Yes, sir'. "Good." A small, dark olive-green Guardian Shoulder Dragon sitting on the teacher's desk flapped its wings and screeched, signaling that class was over. The teacher didn't even have time to dismiss the class before they all vanished from their seats.

Link soon found himself in his special spot on a large, outstretched branch. He certainly didn't mind having to live in a dormitory if it meant living in the Great Tree itself, the very heart of the Earth Realm. It was so tall that sometimes even clouds touched the very top leaves. The inside of the tree had long ago been hollowed out to form staircases, take-off ledges, and rooms.

As the blue-eyed teenager dangled his legs over the edge, he couldn't help but think of what his Soul Dragon would be like. He also couldn't wait for two reasons: one, he could finally train to become a knight, and two, he desperately wanted to experience flying. Gazing at the view was one thing, but riding a Dragon in said view was another. With the end of the year drawing close, Link found it hard to resist jumping around like a six year-old. However, Zelda always told him that he had to pass the final exam before he could even think about riding a Dragon. He knew that as his best friend she was just looking out for him and wanted him to focus on getting a good grade. The better the marks, the better the Dragon.

Despite Link's excitement, he still couldn't keep away the sinking feeling that he might not end up with a good Dragon, or any at all for that matter. There was always at least one person whose Dragon did not accept them, and that really worried Link. The Ceremony made things easier by matching Dragons to their future companion's personality, while back in the day, people had to actually look for their Dragons rather than simply choose, and that often resulted in many casualties. Either that or people would just end up adopting a Guardian Shoulder Dragon instead. Those little nippers were the only Dragons that women were allowed have, which Link thought was stupid. He thought everyone should be allowed to ride their very own Dragon. Normal Dragons weren't even all that big – just a little taller than the average Hylian. The biggest that Guardians got were as tall as your own head, although from head to tail tip, they were almost as long as your entire body.

The depressing thoughts of not having a Dragon forced Link to focus his mind on something else. That something happened to be Zelda. He was head-over-heels in love with her, but he would never have the guts to tell her for fear of rejection. They already had the most amazing best friend relationship – the two were inseparable. Link really didn't want to ruin that, and even if Zelda was okay with it, it would still be agonizingly awkward. Not only that, but her father was the captain of the Earth Realm Guard. To the Shadow Realm he'd try and confront HIM about his feelings towards his daughter! Link shook his head of the thought of that terrifying man and instead remembered the apple he'd brought to snack on. He sank his teeth into the soft flesh of the fruit and ripped a huge chuck out of it, not caring about the juice running down his chin. He was far too interested in the aerial race that was currently taking place in the sky in front of him. About eight Dragons and their Hylian riders were flying through hoops that other Dragons kindly held in place. The pair in the lead was showing off by doing flips and tricks as they passed each hoop.

Link's mind soon fell into a daydream where he was the one doing the showing off and winning those races. He sat triumphantly upon his majestic Dragon, not even having to hold on as it performed a mid-air corkscrew. He smirked to the other riders and continued speeding along, feeling the rush of wind blow in his face and the adrenaline catapulting through his veins. His Dragon's wings beat in time to his own rapid heart pace with each passing hoop. The contestants behind him held looks of fury as he flew through the final one, spiraling upwards in victory. He opened his mouth to speak, and-

"HEADS UP!"

Link knew exactly who that voiced belonged to. It snapped him out of his daydream just in time to duck out of the way of a humongous red Wyvern. Its rider turned back to smirk at Link before zooming off somewhere in the Earth Realm. Link seriously wanted to chop that guy's head off, but thankfully his rage was calmed down by Zelda's perfect timing.

"Figured I'd find you here!" she chirped, plonking herself down beside Link. She casually pushed aside her golden locks of hair from her left shoulder so her Guardian could sit with them. The small Dragon truly was remarkable with its glorious white scales, soft, blue-tinted feather wings, and lava-coloured eyes. Link took a small moment to gently stroke the underside of its neck with the back of his finger. He kind of felt himself wishing that he had a Guardian, too. "Rayan's such a jerk, isn't he?" Zelda said after a while.

"You saw that?" Link replied. Zelda nodded before answering.

"Clearly your head was too far up in the clouds to notice me standing by the opening back there."

Link's eyes widened and he struggled to fight back a blush. How did he not notice the girl of his dreams standing just a few feet away? "I-I was…uh…watching the race…"

Zelda giggled. "Yeah, I noticed. Listen, I know you're excited about the Ceremony, but please, just-"

"I know, I know. Study hard for once. You don't have to keep telling me."

"Then stop giving me reasons to!" Zelda's Dragon let out a short, high-pitched roar in agreement.

Link guiltily scratched the back of his head. He hated having to make Zelda raise her voice at him. "Sorry, Zel. I can't help it. I've been dreaming of this moment ever since I could speak, and now, with it so close…I just…" He couldn't find words to finish his sentence. Instead, Zelda let out a soft sigh and the two of them continued to gaze at the sky.

Link lay awake in bed that night, unable to feel tired or keep his mind off of what Zelda told him earlier. He also couldn't shake the thought that that cocky Fire Realm rider was back. The only reason Rayan had that high and mighty attitude was because of that Dragon of his. The two-legged Wyverns were incredibly common in the Fire Realm, but they were also the biggest and most lethal. Word that one had been tamed spread like wildfire, and Rayan had quickly become famous. Link wasn't jealous or anything; there was no way he'd want one of those brutes for a companion. He just hated the fact that Rayan picked on him EVERY time he visited to collect supplies that only the Earth Realm could produce. Being over two years younger than that narcissistic nineteen year-old certainly didn't help either.

Link shifted onto his left side to give his back some relief. It always took him a while before he got comfortable enough to sleep. His final exam would take place in just a few more weeks, and then the Choosing Ceremony would take place just one month later – the last month of the year. His excitement was taken over by anxiousness as he realized just how fast it had approached. He really didn't feel ready for the exam. He had the whole year to study and he did nothing. He did nothing but daydream and gaze at all the wild Dragons, trying to figure out which one could possibly be his. He figured that he could just cram some study sessions in to give him a better chance at passing, but his nervousness put him off. Maybe he could ask Zelda to study with him? That would give him the motivation he needed, and as an added bonus he would get to spend some quality time with her. Although… There WAS the possibility of him being distracted by her, unless of course she frightened him into studying, something she often did. Yeah, maybe that would work.

A single drop of sweat poured down Link's forehead as he stared at the paper in front of him, waiting for the headmaster to signal the start of the exam. He had only gotten one session of study time in and Link honestly felt like he would faint. He was bound to fail. There were already a number of things on the first page that he knew he couldn't answer. The history teacher's Shoulder Dragon screeched, and all around him Link's classmates were already almost halfway done with the first few questions.

 _I can't do this… There's no way…_ Link thought as his pencil hovered above the first question. _Since when did we have a lesson about how to maneuver air currents?!_ He guessed his answer and just continued to the next, hoping he was at least somewhat correct. This pattern continued on for almost every single page, and he seemed to skip most questions, telling himself he would just go back to them later. Thankfully a couple of them held answers to previous questions, so he was happy about that. The last page was labeling the Dragon anatomy, something he was super glad to see. It looked like all that gazing helped him achieve something, right?

Link only had one label left to go. It seemed that there was always that one question that left his mind blank. He racked his brain for the word he was trying to find. He just couldn't think of the name. What if this one little thing made the difference between him passing and failing?! He just couldn't give up, and hey, he at least had to try. The answer was on the tip of his tongue and he was determined to spit it out. He was worried that he wouldn't have enough time to finish, and this encouraged him to think faster. At last he thought of the correct answer and jotted it down. With a swift flick of his hand, he flipped the pages and had a go at the questions he missed. He cast a nervous glance around the room and saw that only a few more students had yet to finish. Most were casually leaning back in their chairs feeling confident, or just laying their heads in their arms out of boredom. Link gritted his teeth and glared back down at the page. It was either guess or skip, and he would rather guess than just look like he knew nothing. He scribbled his last few answers down just as the Dragon screeched again. It flew around the room and hastily collected everyone's test papers, soon returning them to the headmaster's desk ready to be checked and scored. Now all Link had to do was wait.

A certain golden-haired girl darted into Link's room, startling him and almost causing him to fall off his bed. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward so there was no escape from her stern gaze.

"How did it go? Did you answer them all? Do you think you passed? How did it go?" she almost screamed at him, not paying attention to what she was saying.

"Whoa, calm down, Zel! I did fine, alright?" He threw her a nervous smile, silently begging to give him a little space. To his relief, she moved away a bit and tightly hugged her torso…before immediately latching onto his and squeezing the air out of him.

"Okay, okay, I just really hope you DID do well. I don't want you to fail and end up without a Dragon. Because then you can't take me out!"

Link blushed redder than Rayan's Wyvern at Zelda's statement.

"Uh…t-take you out…?"

She glanced up at him with a straight yet confused look. "You know, flying? You're not the only one who wants to be up there in the sky."

"O-oh, yeah, r-right…" Link paused for a moment, processing Zelda's full meaning of the sentence. "Wait, you want me to get a Dragon just so you can go flying?!"

The two of them laughed, Link's cheeks finally beginning to fade to their original colour.

"Of course not, silly. Although it IS just one of the reasons I want you to get one." She turned her head and glanced at him innocently from the corner of her eye, her cute smile never faltering.

"Hey!" He playfully and lightly punched her shoulder before continuing to laugh with her. They fell silent when they heard a knock at Link's door. Pokot poked his head round the corner after receiving the all-clear that he could come in.

"Zelda, your dad wants to see you," he stated bluntly. Zelda sighed and got off Link's bed.

"Okay then, better see what he wants. See you later, Link!"

"Bye," Link replied, watching her glorious figure disappear from his room along with Pokot. His door closed and his face ceased to a look of depression. "Bye…"


	2. Chapter 2

Part One – Chapter Two

Zelda constantly fiddled with Link's hair while they waited to be called out. She kept uttering that his hair "doesn't look right" and "needs to go here". He didn't mind her touch – in fact, he rather much enjoyed it. He just wished she would stop fussing over how he looked. He was certain that his Dragon wouldn't care, and he bluntly pointed this out to Zelda.

"I don't care. You're going to be out there in front of hundreds of people and their Dragons, so I want you to look your best," she replied, pushing a few stray strands underneath his green graduate's hat.

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any less nervous, nor does this ridiculous outfit. Like seriously, who wears tunics anymore?"

"The outpost guards and several other knights do. Now hush up."

"Okay, fine, I get the tunic, but the hat? It just looks like someone rolled a giant leaf into a floppy cone." Link flicked the end of his hat to emphasize his point.

Zelda sighed and finally removed her hands from his head. "It's tradition, Link. Besides, it's said that the four heroes of legend wore the same outfits, just in different colours."

Link tried to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous it sounded, but failed, earning a light slap from Zelda.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You'll understand when you're older." Link threw an unamused look at her. "What? You're acting like a little kid, so you deserve to be treated like one."

"Oh hardy har."

"Come on; cheer up, mister grumpy-boots."

"How can I cheer up when so many things could go wrong today?!"

Zelda placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Listen, I know you're going to get an amazing Soul Dragon. You have every right to. After all, you passed your test, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but just barely…"

"That's beside the point. Just stay calm, and choose wisely."

There was a knock at the door, signaling that the Ceremony was about to take place.

"I guess you should go and join the crowd, then," Link said as walked past her and grabbed the door knob. He had only opened the door slightly before Zelda said,

"By the way, I think you look very handsome."

The teenager clad in green blushed and smiled a thanks before leaving completely.

"Huh, small crowd…" Link said sarcastically to himself as he stared with wide eyes at the massive gathering of people and Dragons from all over the Earth Realm. He was in a straight line with his fellow classmates, the sun shining high in the sky above them. Wild Dragons soared overhead, casting quick glances at the graduates every now and then as if judging them. The platform they were on was high enough for a Dragon to swoop down to catch a bit of momentum for take-off before hitting the ground below, and a runway platform just for that purpose stood off to Link's right. The headmaster of Link's school stood at the edge of the platform, ready to give his speech. He held up his hand to silence the crowd and took a deep breath.

"Thank you everyone for coming to this momentous occasion. Today, we celebrate our latest generation of graduates and their future Soul Dragons!" The crowd cheered and clapped, making Link wish he could curl into a ball and disappear. If there was one thing he couldn't avoid, it was stage-fright. He was a naturally shy boy when it came to people he didn't know. The headmaster turned to the boys and continued. "Each of you will be called one by one to the runway to the right of me. From there, the Dragons above you shall be called down by our Dragon Whisperer and approach you with caution. They have little experience with human interaction, so please be mindful. Remember, you must choose your Dragon, but he or she must also choose you. If you decide wrong, do not panic. Simply try again with a different Dragon. You will know when you have made a connection."

Link watched as the first graduate made his way up the short flight of steps to the runway. The leader of the Earth Realm, Llilat, stepped before him and shook his hand. She then proceeded to call the wild Dragons down as planned, and it wasn't long before a female took interest in the boy. Seeing this happen so fast reassured Link a little and gave him a ray of hope to rely on. The graduate mounted his new Soul Dragon and they took off down the runway, the crowd's cheering following them as they gained altitude.

The next to choose was Pokot, the class nerd. There was no doubt he'd easily be able to pick a Dragon. Link could almost guess which he would choose. Pokot finally settled his gaze on a deep turquoise-coloured male with enticing snake-like eyes. The two instantly bonded, and they took off just like the previous graduate. Link looked down the line of boys and saw that he was number six. Two had already gone, so that left just three graduates before it was his turn. He rubbed his hands together nervously as the next boy took off with a frightening dark green female with scarlet – no, BLOOD red eyes. While Link waited for his turn, his eyes scanned the crowd for Zelda. He soon spotted her down near the front next to her menacing dad, who surprisingly smiled up at him, although Link could see the high expectations in his eyes. He would have to get an impressive-looking Dragon if he were ever to win Zelda over. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed his name being called.

He glanced over at the Dragons waiting for him on the runway, then back at the crowd, then the Dragons again. He managed to keep his hands from shaking and forced his feet up the short steps. He could tell that the Dragons knew he was anxious, but he did his best to hide it anyway. Out of the corner of his eye he could pinpoint Rayan and his Wyvern hovering just above the crowd, and even from that distance Link could see the smirk on his face that said, " _You're not gonna get a Dragon as cool as mine in a million years_." Link turned his attention back to the ever-impatient Dragons. Many of them were gradually stepping around him, avoiding him as if he were a living disease. A couple of fierce-looking males scowled and hissed as Link looked as them, and they flew off in a huff.

"Great… So far, so good…" Link said to himself again, but quiet enough so no one but the Dragons could hear him. It was as if his sarcasm sparked an interest in a few, and they took a few more steps towards him. He could certainly go with a Dragon who understood his sense of humor. One snorted rather loudly behind him, making him swiftly turn around, hoping that it wasn't about to attack him. He knew that he was taking way longer than usual, but he was taking Zelda's advice and choosing wisely. He did however feel completely embarrassed by the quiet murmurs that lingered amongst the mass of people. Even the graduates who were still yet to go looked bored or about ready to push him off the platform. He smiled apologetically at them and gazed back at the Dragon who had snorted. It looked completely uninterested in him which Link was thankful for.

The blonde teenager suddenly felt something press against his back, making his muscles tense up as he turned around. Standing mere inches away from him stood a bright red male with an intricate green pattern covering his underbelly and wings. The top of his head and horns were black, making it look like he was wearing some kind of mask. A typical diamond shape adorned his long, whip-like tail, and his wings were a part of his forearms. He wasn't a Wyvern, since he wasn't nearly as big and he had to use his wings to walk with. Link was satisfied however, and he smiled at the sheepish Dragon whose confidence was slowly growing. He was a little on the small side and was incredibly slender with little to no muscularity at all, but Link didn't care. He raised his left hand to the Dragon's long, pointed snout, allowing him to sniff it first. The Dragon soon lightly pressed the tip of its nose into Link's hand, finally accepting him. Link grinned from ear to ear as he gently stroked his new Soul Dragon, feeling his entire being slightly tingle at the bond. The Dragon lifted his head and gestured for Link to sit upon his back. The teenager eagerly obliged and got comfortable.

"Ready when you are!" he proudly announced, and the Dragon sped off the end of the runway and took to the air with a roar of triumph. Link forgot that he could now understand everything his Dragon said, and so he cheered with him. "Woo hooooo!"

About an hour after the Ceremony, each of the graduates gathered to show off their Dragons. Link was standing off to the side, still deciding what to call his.

"Hey, Link!" a familiar voice called, and he was soon greeted by Zelda's usual death-hug. "I'm so proud of you!" she cried, finally releasing her best friend to admire his Dragon. Zelda's father stood behind her, also proud of the young graduate.

"Have you decided what to call him yet?" he asked.

"No, sir, not yet. It's a tough one."

Zelda placed one hand on her hip and the other underneath her chin. She too couldn't think of a suitable name. "Have you asked him yourself what he wants to be called?" she suggested.

"Yeah, but he said that he wants me to name him." He turned to said Dragon and gave him a small noogie. "You haven't really given much choice, have ya?" The Dragon made a noise of what was presumably a chuckle, and in return he gently nudged his Hylian companion in the chest.

"Well, whatever you name him, it has to be something noble," Zelda said, patting the reptile on the neck. Her father nodded in agreement. "Hmm… Ooh! What about- No, no, that's too feminine… Um…" Link grinned and tried to contain his blush. She was so cute like this. There was a long moment of silence before she suddenly made all three males jump. "Aha! I've got it! How does Druid sound?"

"Druid?" Link and her father asked.

"Yeah! The mythical forest creatures that were believed to exist hundreds of years ago!"

"What do you think, buddy?" Link asked the Dragon. The winged serpent gave a short yip of approval. "He said, 'Yup! Druid it is!'"

"Yay!" Zelda cried before tackling Link in another hug. She soon released him when her father cleared his throat, letting them know that he was still there.

"Well then, Link, I advise that you and Druid get a lot of flying practice in; I know how much you want to become a knight."

"Absolutely, sir!"

With that, Zelda's father departed, leaving Link and Zelda to mingle with the other students.

"Pleeease take me out flying with you, Link!" Zelda pleaded for about the fiftieth time. Her hands were clasped together and her eyes looked on the merge of tears. Link hated turning her down, but he was instructed to not let anyone fly with him until he was a certified knight.

"I really wish I could, Zel, but rules are rules," Link replied, shrugging his shoulders. Zelda sighed in defeat and let her arms hang limply by her sides. "Well, I'm gonna go flying with Druid for a little longer before I head to the knight try-outs. Wish me luck, okay?"

"…Okay…"

"Hey, I promise I'll take you out as soon as I get permission. That's a promise." Zelda smiled up at him and said her goodbyes.

Link made his way over to Druid who was patiently waiting on a branch outside. "Ready to go?" Druid nodded and lowered himself to make it easier for Link to mount him. He had recently been given a saddle too, to ensure that the teen didn't fall off the Dragon's smooth back. Once they were both comfortable, Druid leapt off the branch and freefell most of the way down. He opened his magnificent wings at the last second and sped through the air. The first time he had done this Link had almost gotten whiplash, but the young Hylian was prepared this time by keeping himself bent forward, but not enough so his chin wouldn't smack the Dragon's neck. Link's daydreams were nowhere near as good as what the real deal felt like. He finally felt free of all his troubles, as if a heavy burden had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. He did pass the exam and Choosing Ceremony after all, and those had been pretty stressful.

Link asked Druid to take them higher so they could observe the Earth Realm in all its glory. The serpent's head tipped upwards and they gradually ascended, passing a few other Dragons and their riders along the way. One pair of which involved Pokot and his Dragon, who decided to fly alongside them.

"Hey, Link! Getting along with your Dragon so far?" the nerdy boy called out.

"You bet I am! Zelda helped me with naming him; he's called Druid."

"Man, I wish I'd thought of that! It's a pretty cool name!"

"I know, right?"

Pokot patted his Dragon's neck. "This here is Equinox. His scales sometimes look as if they change colour in certain light!"

"Huh, neat!" There was an awkward silence between the two, so Link decided to change the topic. They weren't really friends or anything – more like acquaintances. "So… How long do we have to wear these uniforms?"

"Oh, the hat and tunic? Just for today, unless you're going to appoint for a knight's position. Then you have to put it back on."

"Aww man."

"Hey, it's not that bad. When are you going to appoint, anyway?"

"Oh, today."

"WHAT?! That's crazy-talk! You know how dangerous the training program is if you haven't had at least a week's practice!"

"Relax. Druid and I have got this in the bag!" Druid gave a happy roar to show he agreed.

"If you say so, then." Pokot sighed before heading off into a different direction.

"Okay, Druid, let's get some real flying done!" Link fist-pumped the air as Druid's wings increased their pace, accelerating the speed at which they were travelling. Link instructed his Dragon to perform any trick he wanted. The young Hylian thought it was best he prepare for the unexpected and also give his Dragon the freedom of direction. Druid dipped downwards and tucked his wings tightly to his body. After a few seconds, he opened his wings ever so slightly and turned completely over, performing a corkscrew. He did this again and again, earning cries of joy from Link who was absolutely exhilarated. He soon levelled out and began flying upwards in order to complete a full loop. Link threw both of his hands in the air as the two of them hung upside down for a second before coming back down. Druid then quickened his pace towards the Entangled Forest, knowing full well what he wanted to try next. Link sensed this and egged him on, eager to enter the place of many twisted vines and foliage. The boy's hands gripped the handle of the saddle as the forest neared, getting closer and closer. His blue eyes scanned the trees for a possible opening, although Druid found one first and headed straight for it. Link ducked his head as far down as possible, and his Dragon did the same with his feet and a portion of his wings. He kept his tail straight as they plummeted through the intense greenery, weaving in and out between the protruding branches and hanging thorn vines. The two got scratched a few times, but they didn't care; they were having far too much fun. Druid constantly left a trail of fallen leaves in his wake, along with the occasional branch and twig.

They rapidly approached a large incoming tree with only one visible direction to go: up. Druid growled with determination and used his feet to catapult him off a branch to aid him in his sharp vertical ascent.

"Bring it on!" Link cried confidently, keeping his eyes strained on the ray of light that they were headed for. Druid beat his green wings with all the possible force he could muster and they shot back up into the safety of the sky. The Dragon gradually flew upside down and then twirled in midair to level back out. As they gently cruised the air currents, both Dragon and Hylian found themselves panting from the excitement. They made eye contact for several seconds before whooping and roaring with joy. "That. Was. AWESOME!" Link cried, throwing his fists in the air and allowing himself to fall on his back in the saddle. "We're so doing that tomorrow!"

Druid gave a small roar of agreement and then added a few more to say, " _ **And to think this happened all in one day…**_ "

"Yeah. Well, I think that's enough practice for today. You ready for the knight try-outs now?" Link asked, sitting back up and stroking his Dragon's neck. Druid nodded.

" _ **Where to?**_ "

"You see that tall rocky spire over there?" Link pointed to somewhere off to their left. "That's where they're being held."

Druid followed Link's finger and saw what he was talking about. Just as the winged serpent was about to turn in that direction, a huge hunk of red suddenly began circling them before coming to hover in front of them, forcing Druid to stop.

"Where do you think you're going, Stink?" Rayan mused atop his Wyvern.

Link face-palmed. "You know, that nickname is really starting to get old."

"You didn't answer my question."

"That's none of your business. Now shove off, show-off."

Rayan gasped melodramatically. "How rude! You ought to learn your manners!"

"Well, look who's talking."

"Pfft, you're just jealous."

"Jealous? Of what? That pompous fire-head of yours, or your dumb Dragon?"

Rayan scowled for a split-second before returning to his trademark smirk. He smoothed back his reddish-brown hair before replying. "Are you sure you want to pick a fight with me and Ferno on that pathetic excuse for a fire-breathing lizard?"

"Oh I certainly would. It wouldn't take much to immobilize that Wyvern in the Entangled Forest and take him down that way."

"You do realize what fire plus vegetation equals, right?"

"Yeah, being kicked out of the Earth Realm for good for starting a forest fire." Link triumphantly crossed his arms; it was his turn to smirk now. Druid however didn't feel as triumphant. Ferno was over twice his size and could easily ensnare him in those gigantic talons. He really wished Link would stop his petty arguing so they could just get away from the Fire Realm Wyvern and to the training grounds where they were supposed to be. Despite the fact that Link was winning the verbal altercation between him and Rayan, Ferno however was getting the upper hand over poor Druid.

" _ **You're pathetic. How is a Dragon like you supposed to carry Link into battle with that scrawny build of yours? I could rip your throat out in mere seconds right now if I wanted to.**_ " Druid couldn't find the roars to reply, nor did he want Link finding out that he was losing. Instead he lowered his head even more if it were possible, and couldn't hide the sheepish look that was clearly written on his face. He certainly didn't feel up for training now.

Link breathed a sigh of relief as Druid touched-down on the hard rock of the training grounds. Said Dragon hadn't growled a single word the whole trip, partly because Link wouldn't stop prattling on about how dumb and big-headed Rayan was. But mostly, the words that were exchanged between the enemies had truly knocked down Druid's confidence. Link was too excited to notice his Dragon's mood though, and he ran up to the head of the knights' training program, Gradloch, to appoint himself. The burly man and his Soul Dragon turned to look at the fresh recruit as he bounded up to them, followed by a sulking Druid.

"Hello, sir. My Dragon and I have come to appoint for a knight's position," Link stated, bowing his head for a quick second.

Gradloch looked stunned for a second as he recognized Link. "But boy, you're just one of the newest graduates, are you not? You must understand that this is no child's play."

"I do understand, but Druid and I are ready for the task."

"Ready? HA! You've only had that Dragon for not even the whole day yet! You can't just get a Dragon and then instantly have the courage and strength to become a knight. You might be ready, but what about your Dragon?"

"We've been practicing all afternoon, and Druid himself said he wanted to do this."

Gradloch glanced at Link's Soul Dragon and immediately noticed something was off. "Are you sure about that?" Link raised an eyebrow and turned to Druid, only just now seeing the glum look upon his face. He shrugged it off as nothing and nodded at Gradloch. He sighed and gave in. "Very well. Seeing as you're already in your uniform, head over and meet me at that platform over there."

Link nodded and mounted Druid once again, watching as Gradloch and his golden Dragon were already flying up to their destination. He took a deep breath in and then back out, and finally ushered the serpent onwards. Once they were met with Gradloch again, Link silently gulped at the course laid out before them.

Tall, sharp, and incredibly menacing grey rocks jutted out of the ground in every which way. Unlit torches, hoops, and wooden targets were fixed to the tops of most, possibly along with the hidden traps that Link had heard so much of from eavesdropping on other knights. In the far distance, two tall posts with flags attached could be seen; Link guessed that that was either the finish or possibly just a checkpoint. Gradloch snapped Link back into reality and explained the rules.

"Alright, the goal is pretty simple: reach the two posts in one piece. However, together you must fly through EVERY hoop, light EVERY torch, and slash EVERY target. If you miss, you must return back to the start. With the help of some of the Gorons and their Dragons from the Desert Realm, the rocks have been set out in a specific path for you to follow. Ah, one more thing: if you get lost, you must also return back to the beginning."

Link hung his head and groaned. He looked back up to find a gleaming sword being held in front of him. He hesitantly took it and held it in his left hand. "Okay, you ready, Druid?" he asked gently. The Dragon nodded and took off into the rock maze.

"WHOA! WATCH OUT!" Link cried, pulling on the saddle to help Druid swerve out of the way of yet another rock. "It's a good thing we practiced in the Entangled Forest; these rocks are everywhere!" The startled Druid roared back in agreement, firing a jet of flame at an incoming torch. Link found it difficult to keep an eye out for both his Dragon and the targets he was supposed to strike with his sword. He managed to hit all of them so far though, so it wasn't looking too bad, although he couldn't say the same for the struggling reptile. He noticed that Druid was a little more sluggish than usual when it came to weaving in between the rocks. _What's up with him?_ Link asked himself. His thoughts distracted him for too long and he missed a sword target. "UGH," he exclaimed, beckoning Druid to stop and head back for their second attempt. He had thought about cheating earlier, that is, until he had caught the shadow of Gradloch's Dragon who was flying above them to keep an honest eye on things.

Getting back to where they originally were was a little easier, considering that the torches were already lit and they had partially memorized the locations of the targets and hoops. However, not long after they reached their spot, things really started to get difficult. Druid immediately sensed the heat that they were approaching, and so ducking out of the way of the sudden jet of flame that came from nowhere was sort of easy, although it did almost make them miss a torch.

"You're doing great, Druid. Keep it up," Link encouraged, glancing around for more traps and targets. A set of spikes shot up from underneath them, almost grazing Druid's body, but thanks to the noticeable grate in the ground, it was avoidable. Link hoped it wasn't dried blood that he saw on the needle-like tips.

They continued speeding along, noticing that there were now fewer targets and more traps. Fire, spikes, and falling rocks seemed to be the most occurring, and so it made them more prepared. The fire barely scorched them and the rocks were often slow. The spikes however still almost got them several times, as the grates were now being hidden from sight.

"A hoop! Just there!" Link notified his Dragon, motioning to the circle. Druid flew straight through it and rounded a corner. The both of them cheered up as they saw that the two posts were very close indeed. "We're almost finished! Just a little longer!" The Dragon was quickly growing tired, but he pressed on nonetheless. The both of them weren't sure just how long they had been at this, but they sure would be glad to get back to the Great Tree for some dinner once they finished.

Druid's lack of stamina was starting to get to him, and he panted heavily as he thrust himself upwards to get a better aim at a torch. Link was too focused on the finish posts to notice or even be concerned about his Dragon's current predicament. Druid banked left and then right around two more corners; they now had a clear run to the finish. The Dragon picked up his pace, wanting nothing more than to just be done with this. Link began cheering and laughing with relief. There were no visible targets or traps left, so it was just the final stretch. Druid mustered up a small smile as he watched the patiently waiting flags draw closer and closer. All they had to do was pass one more large rock and they would be able to go home. Druid's smile faltered when he suddenly heard a slow and eerie clicking coming from the rock they were about to pass. By the time he opened his wings to stop, it was too late. The breath was knocked out of him as the large slab of metal swung out and practically crushed the upper part of his chest. He flipped upside down while continuing to move forwards slightly, throwing Link off his back several feet away. He growled with pain after he landed and slowly raised his head with closed eyes, clearly displaying how much that had hurt. They shot open however when a loud crack was heard, and both Dragon and young Hylian could only watch as the giant mass of rock came hurtling down towards Druid. Link's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, and before he could even shout anything, all he was left with was the cracking of rock and bone and Druid's head disappearing underneath the stone's weight.


	3. Chapter 3

Part One – Chapter Three

Link was frozen as he kneeled before Druid's unmoving body, tears pricking at his eyes as the crimson liquid flowed out from underneath the rock where the Dragon's head was supposed to be.

Druid was dead. Dead because of Link's foolishness. If he had only waited another week, then Druid might still be alive. This was all his fault and there was nothing he could do. He had nothing and no one to blame but himself. Here he thought he would become a great knight, and yet he couldn't even keep his Dragon alive for less than a day. He refused to move and just let the tears flow from his unblinking eyes. Gradloch and his golden Dragon flew down next to him, landing as softly as they could. This wasn't the first time a Dragon had died in the training program, but it certainly was the first time a Dragon was killed because of a fault in one of the traps. He had no idea that the rock was so unstable. He walked over and placed a reassuring hand on Link's trembling shoulder.

"I'm…so sorry, Link," he said, a solemn expression planted on his face. The young Hylian remained still for several more seconds before screaming out in frustration and slamming a fist onto the ground beneath him, his tears slowly turning it a darker shade.

Link hung his head low, mimicking the sun in the distant horizon. His footsteps were small and sluggish as he walked back to the Great Tree, avoiding all eye-contact as possible. His hair made sure of that by dangling over his face, hiding his saddened blue orbs from sight. He had his arms tightened around his torso almost defensively as he passed by other people and their Dragons. Occasionally someone would ask him if he was alright, but he would just mumble, "I'm fine," and continue trudging back to his dormitory room. Earlier, Gradloch had offered to fly him home, but being around Dragons just made him feel worse. He wanted to forget ever befriending Druid, but he knew the memory of his cold, still corpse would haunt him forever. It wasn't like he could move onto another Dragon either; a person being bound to more than one Dragon was unheard of if they weren't a Dragon Whisperer. Besides, no Dragon would want him now. Not with the knowledge that he'd let his die. There was no doubt that word would have quickly spread by morning, and he would be showered with attention.

As he entered the base of the Great Tree and began making his way up, he noticed Zelda and her father talking away down one corridor. He tried to get out of sight, but Zelda had already seen him. To avoid having to look at her with puffy red eyes, he booked it, knowing that he was well faster than her. He made it to his room in record time and slammed the door behind him, proceeding to push his set of wooden drawers against the door to prevent anyone from coming in. He viciously grabbed his hat off his hat and pelted it at the wall, letting it drop into a sad heap on the floor. He then threw himself onto his bed and pushed his face into the soft pillow, screaming as hard and loud as he dared. He just had to let all his emotions pile out – Zelda had taught him to do so, and it made him feel better every time.

Zelda grunted as she kept heaving herself against Link's door, trying desperately to get in. She knew that something was amiss the second she saw him walk by. If there wasn't, then he wouldn't even be walking; he would already be in his bedroom because Druid would have flown him there.

"Link, please, what's wrong? Let me in," she begged softly, but loud and clear enough so she was heard. The boy didn't reply however, but Zelda managed to push the drawers aside enough so she could squeeze in. She found him lying on his side facing the wall, knees pressed to his chest like a frightened child in a thunderstorm. Every now and then she would hear him sniffle and his body would jerk slightly from the quick breaths. She sighed and closed the door, slowly making her way over and sitting beside him, placing a fair-skinned hand on his upper arm. It wasn't hard to tell that he had been crying, but she'd known him since they were little, and the only time he ever cried was when his pet wolf pup passed away from a sudden illness – he was only young and yet he happened to find it one stormy evening, cold and motherless. He had brought it home and took care of it until its life ended a week later, during its sleep. He didn't come out of his room for days.

 _Oh no…_ Zelda thought, suddenly realizing that the worst case scenario had happened. Link was a big animal-lover. It was practically impossible to make him upset unless an incident with an animal occurred, but even in those times he didn't cry. He was tough as – no, he was _made_ of stone, and nothing ever got to him as badly as his wolf pup did. But now, returning home without his Dragon…

"Link?" She gently rubbed his arm, not wanting to see him distraught.

"It's _my_ fault… It's ALL _my_ fault…" he said suddenly, his voice cracking in several areas.

"What's your fault?" she asked, although she was sure she already knew the answer. Her theories were confirmed when his only answer was repeated sobbing. "Shh… It's okay…" She shifted her position so she was able to rest her head on his shoulder and wrap her arms around him reassuringly.

"But it's not okay… He wouldn't be…he wouldn't be dead if it weren't for me…"

"You know that he wouldn't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself. There's probably a more logical reason to this."

"I screwed up big time. I was never worthy of becoming a knight, let alone a Dragon rider. I don't fit in anywhere here, Zel. I have no future."

"Our futures aren't set, Link. There's still time for change."

"What _is_ there to change?" He sat upright and turned to face her, his cheeks stained with dry tears. His expression had now changed from severely hurt to just downright depressed. "My Dragon is dead and there's nothing I can do to change that. I can't do anything but grieve over him and regret my every last action. There _is_ nothing left here for me."

"…I'm here for you." Link's eyes widened slightly, as if he just remembered that Zelda was the one person he truly cared about. "Even if the Seven Realms go completely down in flames, I'll still be here for you, Link, just as I hope you'll be there for me. Promise?"

Link was so awestruck by her words that he almost forgot to reply.

"I promise, Zelda. I promise that I'll fight to the ends of the Earth for you."

"And I, too, promise that I'll never leave your side, and no one could ever convince me otherwise."

Link finally managed to muster a small and kind smile as she took his hands in hers.

"Thanks, Zel. You always know how to make me feel better."

"No problem." Link found himself lost in her eyes, trying desperately to resist kissing her softly smiling lips. He could swear he saw her blush as she looked away and suddenly found the foot of the bed very interesting. "Well, I'd better head off to bed before my dad worries about me. I trust that you'll be okay, from here on out, so don't give _me_ any reasons to worry about _you_." She turned so her feet were now on the ground, ready to take her weight, but she paused as if contemplating something. She faced Link again for one more second and placed a simple, quick kiss on his left cheek. "Goodnight, Link." She got up and left the room, leaving the dumbfounded boy to just sit there blushing like crazy.

Link let out an irritated groan as sunlight poured in through his window, forcing unwanted light into his closed eyes. He picked his pillow up and then dumped it onto his face, holding it down either side with his arms. Today was going to be a LOOONG day.

The young Hylian finally managed to get up and groggily slip his leaf-green tunic over his head and sit it comfortably over his off-white, long-sleeved undershirt. He proceeded to pull his sandy-brown pants on, followed by his dark leather boots. Last but not least, he glanced over at his crumpled hat on the floor and picked it up with a sigh. Setting it somewhat on the back of his head, he nodded with satisfaction and pulled the set of drawers away from his door. He then exited and braced himself for the comments he was about to he knocked around with.

The first to approach him were two knights who had clearly had their careers for a long time. He expected them to be remorseful and pity him for his loss, but the words that came out of their mouths was most shocking.

"You're Link, yes?" the first one said, Link nodding in reply.

The second one shook his head before spitting out his words that were laced with venom. "… _Shame on you_ …"

Link's eyes widened with surprise and a slight hint of hurt; he thought it was normal for one to blame oneself for a mishap, but for others to blame him too?! They pushed past him as if he was some kind of traitor to all knights, and it was clear they wanted him to hear their continuing conversation.

"I can't believe that kid, putting himself and his Dragon in the training program with no less than a day's practice."

"I didn't appoint for training until Snake and I had bonded for over a year."

"He should have known the dangers of the path to become a knight. I don't think I've seen anyone act so foolishly before."

"I pity his Dragon for choosing _him_ as his companion."

Those words stung Link's heart like a thousand bees. He refused to let himself cry again; he'd already done that last night. Instead he shook his head and continued making his way to the bottom of the Great Tree's trunk. Just like the two knights, other people shamed him on his way outside, although there were a few people who apologized for Druid's death. He wasn't sure what he would do today besides just walking wherever. Perhaps he would go and fish, or venture into the Entangled Forest and climb around a bit to let out some of his stress. However, he decided against the latter, the memories of rushing through the trees on Druid's back flowing once more through his mind.

He headed down to the lake and greeted the ever-friendly fisherman, his only friend besides Zelda. His beard was grey and scraggly as usual, and his worn hat sat proudly atop his balding head.

"Oh, hello again, m'boy! Come back down 'ere to snag another whopper?" he said in his cheerful tone.

Link couldn't help but chuckle. "Hello again, Mr. McCarp. Yes, I have indeed come to snag another whopper." Link imitated Mr. McCarp's funny accent on his last sentence, making the both of them chortle with laughter. McCarp handed Link a rod and let the Hylian bait it with a small fish. He cast it out as far as he could and concentrated on whether it was ripples or nibbles that were making the brightly-coloured float bob up and down on the water's surface. There was silence as the two focused on the lines until McCarp broke that silence.

"I heard what happened yesterday, Link. I just want ya to know that I'm sorry for your loss; it can't be easy for ya."

Link nodded but kept his gaze on the water. "Thanks. I'm gradually getting over it, despite what other people say."

"Ugh. Just a few minutes ago I heard two gals squawking away at how irresponsible ya were, but I know it ain't ya fault."

"But isn't it my fault though? I mean, I _was_ the one who foolishly appointed for a knight's position so quickly and didn't foresee the obvious and inevitable outcome."

"Boy, I'm sure there're plenty o' other things to blame for this."

"That's just what Zelda said. Well, almost, anyway."

"She's a wise one, that girl. Tells it like it is and ain't afraid to do so. Ya line's pullin'." Link's head shot forward and he stood up immediately, yanking the rod backwards in an attempt to hook the fish securely. "Ooh, looks like a biggun'!" The fish was desperately trying to fight Link, but he was too strong and yanked the aquatic creature onto the dock. He used a scrap of cloth that was sitting off to the side to easily hold the fish in place while he carefully eased the hook out. It had almost gone through the poor thing's eye. He wasn't able to stop a bit of blood from pouring, but the fish was okay nonetheless. "Ah, too bad. Not as big as last time's."

"Oh well, it's still something."

Unfortunately the fish wasn't an edible species, so he chucked the thing back into the water.

"Before I forget, I been meanin' to ask ya somethin'. Why is it that ya still in ya graduate's uniform?"

"Oh, uh…" Link actually didn't know why he'd put it back on this morning. Just yesterday he said he'd hated it, but it just felt normal to put it on, as if he'd been wearing it his whole life. He did have to admit that it looked rather cool compared to regular clothing.

His particular tunic was a nice shade of grass green (there were different colours associated to the knight's size to make things easier – brown was small, dark green was medium, and yellow was large) and no knights ever wore that colour, which he was half-proud of because he needed a special fitting, considering he was neither small nor medium, but somewhere in between. But just like every other uniform, the sleeves were cut to form a triangular point instead of just being straight and round, and had a beautiful yet simple logo of a Dragon woven into the fabric on each shoulder. The logo was what represented new graduates and knighthood, and was a different colour depending on the Realm. The Earth Realm's was green of course, but Link's had to be a shade lighter so it would be noticed. Fire was red, Snow was light blue, Water was dark blue, Desert was yellow, Shadow was black, and Light was pure white.

McCarp waved his free hand in the air.

"Ah, never mind. 'Tis none o' my business. Ya don't hafta answer that."

Link smiled and said goodbye to McCarp, saying that he was going to go for a short walk.

"Alright, m'boy. Take care o' yaself and Zelda for me."

Link kicked the ground as he walked, glad that no one else was talking to him, until a certain Wyvern-riding jerk decided to give him a little shove from behind as an introduction.

"Hey, little buddy! Today's my last day in the Earth Realm for now, so I thought I'd come along and say goodbye!" Rayan said, Link knowing full-well that most of that statement was sarcastic or had a different meaning.

"Okay then, bye. Now leave me alone. I'm not in the mood," Link replied darkly, although he immediately wished he hadn't knowing that Rayan wasn't the type to leave him alone while not in the best of moods. Talk about the worst timing ever.

"Ouch, looks like someone is still sore from yesterday."

Of course Rayan knew about Druid.

"What do you want, Rayan?" Link turned to him with crossed arms and an irritated expression.

"Me? I don't want anything, Stink. You know that I too think that your actions at the training grounds were horrific. I knew you were naïve, but I didn't think that you were low enough to kill your own Dragon." Link could hear the smirk in his voice. The Dragonless Hylian clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. How _dare_ Rayan have the _nerve_ to say _that_! "Although, I think we all know that it was pretty inevitable for your Dragon to die anyway. That thing was so scrawny it shamed the whole Dragon race. Oh well, I guess everyone can't have a tough Giants' Sanctuary Dragon like mine." As if on cue, Ferno gave a roar and landed right behind his companion, his horned snout held high with pride. Rayan climbed atop the Wyvern with ease from years of doing so and seated himself in the saddle that was draped with supply bags. "See ya round, Stink!" And with that, the two took off back to the Fire Realm.

Once they were out of earshot and seeing as there was no one else around, Link screamed and pulled at his hair and stomped the ground, letting the world know just how much he hated Rayan.

"THAT SELF-OBSESSED, EGOSTITICAL, SLIMEY LITTLE…UGH!" Link panted heavily and allowed his rage to die down a little by thinking of Zelda. Oh how he wished that she could kiss him goodnight all the time…

Link had only walked a few more steps again when he suddenly recalled Rayan's words: " _Oh well, I guess everyone can't have a tough Giants' Sanctuary Dragon like mine._ " His eyes widened and his head slowly turned in the direction of the Earth Realm's Giants' Sanctuary.

Zelda raced down the corridors of the Great Tree, having long given up on searching for Link and instead looked for her father to ask if he'd seen her best friend anywhere.

"Dad? Daddy! Come on, where are you…?" she cried out, mumbling the last part to herself. Her head frantically flicked left and right in the hopes to catch a glimpse of him. _Maybe he's at the top of the tree?_ she suggested to herself. She followed her gut instinct that he was there, and there he was. He was conversing with a few knights – about what, she didn't know, nor did she care. All she cared about was finding Link. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, knowing that he might still be a little unstable and say or do something reckless.

She ran forward and crashed into the back of her father, squeezing him like she usually did.

"Oof! Hello, my daughter. Is something the matter?" he greeted.

Zelda looked up at him with puppy-eyes. "Have you seen Link at all today? I can't find him anywhere! He's not in his room, he's not in his special spot, he's not in the Great Tree, he's not by the-"

The burly man chuckled. "Zelda, my dear, relax. I have heard that people have seen him around today, just walking about."

"WHERE?!"

Her father had to back up slightly as she drew her face as close to his as she could, a clear concern in her eyes.

"I'm afraid I can't say. He could be anywhere right now, that boy. Anyway, isn't best you leave him be for a bit? I think he could use some alone time after…yesterday…"

Zelda sighed in exasperation. "If he wanted to be alone then he would've shut himself away in his room and – wait, you don't blame him for what happened? And you're not mad at him for it either?"

"Well, he is partially to blame, since he was the one who wanted to train so early. But no, I'm not mad at him. Losing a Dragon the same day you befriend it isn't easy, and we can't expect everyone to know their Dragon's limits right away." Zelda let out a relieved breath, although she quickly became agitated again at the thought of still not knowing where Link was. Her father raised a hand to stop her from rambling again so he could continue speaking. "Why not go and see Llilat? I'm sure she would be happy to send out a Dragon to scope the Earth Realm for him."

Zelda's face lit up and she tightly hugged her father again. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, my daughter." He chuckled as he watched her sprint away to Llilat's chamber.

The Dragon Whisperer was calmly stroking one of her Guardian Shoulder Dragons in content, until the daughter of the captain of the Earth Realm Guard came bursting in, out of breath from the looks of it.

"My dear, what is it that has you in a panic?" she asked the young Hylian girl.

"Can't find…Link…Dragon…to find him…please…" Zelda said in between heavy breaths. Llilat quietly giggled.

"Slow down, and take a moment to calm yourself." Zelda almost completely collapsed on the floor next to another Guardian, startling the thing and making it leap up and shriek. She let her gaze drift around the large room, noticing that much of its decorations had been replaced with new ones. The walls and ceiling were engulfed in thin vines that grew many beautiful and exotic flowers, and the far end of the room contained a mountainous pile of soft pillows in various shades of blue and gold, of which Llilat and her first Soul Dragon rested on. After another moment, Llilat spoke again. "Now, please, what is troubling you?" She pushed a lock flowing red hair behind her ear to show that Zelda had her full attention.

"Please, Miss Llilat, I need a Dragon to search for Link. Assuming that you know what happened to his Dragon yesterday, I don't want to leave him to his own devices, but I can't find him anywhere. I'm worried sick about him." Llilat smiled and spoke softly to another Dragon lying nearby. It soon stood up and gracefully exited the room to look for the lost boy. "Thank you so much, Miss Llilat."

"You're very welcome. I shall let you know if my Dragon finds anything."

Link took one more glance around his surroundings to make sure nobody could see him. Sighing in relief, he climbed up the pile of rocks and heaved himself over the edge. He stared up at the small opening that stood not too far away. _Come on, no going back now,_ he thought, bravely taking more steps forward into the small tunnel. To be honest, he didn't know what the heck he was doing; he was just doing it. He placed his right hand upon the cool rock as he slowly shuffled forwards. His breath hitched and came out as hot steam. Goosebumps erupted all along his skin as the cold crawled around him, wrapping him in an unforgiving blanket of icy fear. He didn't know how the temperature dropped so rapidly. Was the cold just a side effect of maybe some kind of enchantment to keep the Dragons in? Each Giants' Sanctuary was sealed inside a wall of rock, which made Link wonder why they didn't all just fly out, so an enchantment probably _was_ the cause, although it did seem rather ridiculous to think about. However, it certainly did cause a dramatic change in atmosphere. He knew he was trying his courage by doing this. He half expected to hear whispers echoing around him as he travelled onward.

The tunnel and its frightening chill finally came to a standstill, and Link was met with a mass of greenery – even more so than back in the village. But he wasn't in the safe haven of it anymore; he was now in a completely different territory, and staying alert meant staying alive. It was really hard to decide whether to come armed or not, but since he wasn't here to fight, he decided to leave any weapons and tools behind.

The grass was amazingly soft beneath his feet, and the trees were a brilliant shade of green. The sun cascaded down in between each leaf, painting the ground below golden. Link stopped in his tracks and looked sharply upwards at a flock of tropical birds that flew out of the canopy, startling him with the noise of ruffling vegetation. Link breathed out and continued walking, constantly looking around him. Aside from birds tweeting and insects making infernal buzzing noises, it was pretty quiet. _Too_ quiet for Link's liking. Why were there no thunderous footsteps and bellowing roars that could practically break rock? Just where _were_ all the Giants' Sanctuary Dragons?

After a while, Link paused to take a small break and sat by a nearby creek. He wasn't going to leave until he came across at least one Dragon. He watched as a glistening silver-blue fish leapt out of the water and swam downstream with incredible speed for such a small thing. It was pretty much gone in an instant. _If I want to keep my skin in this place, maybe I ought to take some mental notes. Number one: speed,_ Link thought to himself, smirking. Observing the way animals thrived in this environment would certainly aid him in preventing his limbs from being torn apart. Or swallowed whole.

He stood back up and picked a random direction to walk in.

"On second thought, a sword might have been nice…" Link said to no one in particular as he struggled to navigate the forest and push aside any thick leaves and branches. The hem of his tunic and hat kept snagging on protruding twigs, his face was almost constantly met with massive spider webs (fortunately most of them didn't contain their owners) and almost strangled himself on a dangling vine. "I swear, the next thing you know I'm gonna be walking straight into – WHAAGH!" Link exclaimed as he suddenly felt his feet disappear right from beneath him, along with the ground.

He desperately tried clinging onto anything that was within range to stop himself from sliding into incoming rocks and other unwanted obstacles, and leaves flew everywhere as his back sped downwards towards who-knows-where. A couple of Guardians shrieked in terror as the screaming Hylian crashed into them, bringing them with him. One lay wide-eyed across his face while the other dug its claws into his tunic, holding on for dear life. The trio carried on for several more seconds before the ground finally levelled out again, causing Link to catapult forwards and roll over multiple times. The Guardians were launched into the air and then landed in a crumpled heap not too far away from the leaf-covered boy. The Dragons stood up and grumbled to themselves as they stretched their limbs before taking off, shrieking insults at Link on their way into the trees.

"Trust me to jinx myself…" Link mumbled, getting up and brushing himself off. "Heh, if Zelda got covered in leaves and dirt she'd completely flip." It was true that, despite her independent attitude, Zelda could be such a girl at times. She often wore her favourite outfit too, which was a flowy pink dress that stopped just above the knees. The sleeves went no further than just before her elbows, and the entire top half of the dress was decorated with a swirly lilac-coloured pattern. The swirls gradually faded out as it reached the skirt of the dress, leaving the rest of it a plain pink. To match, she wore the same lilac-coloured tights underneath. Her leather boots were plain just like Link's, although hers had a slight red hue to the dark brown. Occupying her wrists were a few golden bangles that Link had gotten her for her birthday once. He had also noticed long ago that she always wore her hair the same way every day too – a section of the middle was neatly plaited and divided at the top of her head to form a hair-crown, and the rest of her golden locks remained untouched and slung down her back, although she sometimes liked it to hang over one shoulder. Her fringe was long and thin and was parted to the right; Link liked the way it was slightly wavy and framed her fragile face.

He sighed dreamily, glad that no one was around to give him strange looks while he was caught up in his daydreams. He snapped out of his trance however when he remembered that his full attention needed to be focused on his surroundings. He glanced up at the slope he had just descended from. _I guess I'm not going back that way any time soon…_ he thought. The amount of leaves that were splayed along the ground were what made it so slippery, and it would be near impossible to climb. Link groaned and began heading off towards what he hoped was the heart of the Giants' Sanctuary. He found himself wondering just how big a Giant could get and whether it was truly possible to actually move around at such a size. He chuckled at the thought, but instantly froze when he heard a distant thumping in the direction he was walking. The Dragons were close.

Link's heart pounded in his chest, yelling at him angrily to just get out of there before he was noticed. The young Hylian ignored this, and instead focused his attention on the Dragon he was currently watching from inside his bush. He guessed from its slender form that it was a female, and its scales were the most fluorescent yellow that Link had ever seen. Its face was covered in tiny red freckles, or at least, Link _hoped_ that they were freckles and not…blood. He shivered at the thought, although he was reassured when he saw that the Dragon was a fruit-eater. However, that did not mean that it was defenseless or friendly, so he kept a low profile. He watched as its immensely curly, whip-like tail wrapped around a plump mango and picked it straight off the tree it was sitting next to. It then proceeded to slice it open with ease with its claws and nibble at the fleshy inside. As for the Dragon's size, it was almost as tall as the tree it was picking from, which Link already thought was pretty impressive, although he was sure that he would come across even larger Dragons. This thought reminded him of why he was here, and so he began to silently slip away, being careful not to snap any twigs or crunch any leaves.

He was almost out of sight before he noticed a small skulltula that had somehow sneaked its way onto his foot and, in a blind panic, completely forgot that he was supposed to be stealthy. He yelped and sprang up, kicking his leg around wildly and drawing the attention of every living thing in the area. When the arachnid was finally flung off, Link came back to his senses. He slowly turned around to meet the startled and bewildered gaze of the yellow Giant Dragon. It was completely frozen in place, its taloned paw clutching a mango halfway to its mouth. It looked at Link like he was a completely bizarre piece of fruit that it had never seen before and had no intention of eating. Link swallowed nervously, sweat coating his forehead and the inside of his clenched fists. His wide eyes looked left and right, unsure whether to stand his ground or just make a break for it. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the Dragon's gaze flickered to the mango, then back to Link. It finally decided that he wasn't a threat, and continued feasting. Link let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, and backed up slowly so as not to startle the Dragon with any sudden movements. When he was finally able to make a dash towards the behind of a tree, he spotted the same skulltula crawling around not too far away. Link narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at it.

"You're really going to wish that I was eaten right now."

Zelda raced to the top of the tree towards Llilat's chamber, her golden bangles bouncing crazily on her wrists. She was already worn out from doing another run around the village in search for Link, but now she was panting like an overexcited puppy. That didn't stop her from being as quick as she could though, not if Llilat had information on her best friend. She whizzed past her father who wasn't quick enough to stop her so she could rest and ignored his calls. She had to shove her way past several knights and residents of the Great Tree, earning herself some light insults from the annoyed people. A visiting Zora from the Water Realm was the next to be in her way. Zelda was ready to step to the side to avoid her, but the aquatic female accidentally stepped in the same direction. Zelda came to a sudden halt, and both awkwardly stepped in the same directions in the hopes to let the other pass. The Zora finally stepped to the left and stayed there, apologizing. Zelda apologized back and dashed off once again, finally coming to her destination. She opened the double-doors and pushed past the ivy curtain to greet Llilat for the news on Link.

"You requested to see me?" Zelda asked, collapsing onto the floor like she had previously done.

"Yes. About Link," the Dragon Whisperer replied, her face solemn. Zelda hoped that her expression didn't mean bad news.

"…Well? Did you find him?"

"No, I'm afraid not. My Dragon flew across the whole Realm and even asked other Dragons for his whereabouts. The only information I can give you is that he was last seen by the lake with Mr. McCarp. I'm so sorry."

Zelda's gaze landed on the ground, a giant hole now torn in her heart. Her mind flipped through the most logical and worst scenario she could think of: Link went to the lake to drown himself. Tears stung her eyes as she pondered this, wondering if it was really true or not. But she couldn't believe that theory just yet, not if his body wasn't found. And besides, there was no way Link would commit suicide, right?

"Perhaps you should go down to the old fisherman and see what he has to say. It's just a suggestion, but you might find out where Link went," Llilat continued.

Zelda sniffed and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. "It's worth a shot, I guess. Thank you so much for your help."

"No probl-"

Llilat was cut off by an echoing roar that was too deep and too loud to be from a normal Dragon. The noise rang out for several seconds before fading away, and they could feel the silence that befell the entire tree.

"…What was that…?" Zelda asked, her voice wavering in fright.

A large crowd gathered in front of the platform that the students graduated from, waiting for Llilat to appear and assess the situation. Panicked murmurs floated around the Hylians and the other races, while the Dragons were completely freaking out as if the whole Earth Realm was going to be obliterated along with everything in it. They were constantly looking about themselves, flapping their wings sheepishly and letting out frightened shrieks.

The Dragon Whisperer, Zelda's father, Zelda herself, and several other high-rank knights finally stepped out onto the platform. The captain of the Earth Realm Guard placed himself in front and raised a hand.

"Everyone, please, calm yourselves! I know you must be concerned about what we all just heard, but I can assure you, Llilat will soon know of what is going on."

He moved aside so the young woman could speak. The crowd fell completely silent, although some of the Dragons remained in panic mode.

"Now, judging by how much the sound echoed, we can only assume that it came from the Giants' Sanctuary, and it was no doubt a Dragon that caused it," she began.

The scared civilians began throwing questions at her.

"How can you be sure?"

"Just how big was it?"

"What did you hear it say?"

Llilat took special note of the last question she heard. "The tone and pitch of the roar is most definitely recognizable as a Dragon, although I cannot say how big it was. The only thing I do know is that this could possibly be the largest Dragon we have ever heard of." The crowed once again began chattering amongst themselves, obviously worried about their safety. "And as for what it said…" Silence endured as everyone waited for the answer they wanted most. "…I do not know." A chorus of gasps escaped everyone's mouths. Never had they heard of a Dragon Whisperer being unable to understand a Dragon.

"You don't know? As in the roar was too inaudible to make out?" Zelda's father said worryingly.

"Unfortunately, no. The roar was crystal clear; something was definitely being said." Llilat leaned closer to the captain and lowered her voice to a whisper when the crowd began talking again. "…Something is definitely _wrong_. None of the Dragons will tell me what they heard, either."

"They won't?"

"No. I fear that we are dealing with something beyond our knowledge. The Dragons are freaking out and they won't tell me why."

"Well, what have you heard from them besides that?"

"A whole mix of phrases. The most concerning ones are 'It's coming' and 'Need to escape'."

Zelda's father reeled back slowly in thought, trying to contain his rising fear.

Behind them, Zelda was unable to stop her hands from shaking. Something terrible was about to happen, and all she could do was pray to the Goddesses that Link was alright.

"Alright. We station some guards outside the Giants' Sanctuary, just to be safe. If anything happens, they can report back," the captain said.

Zelda's eyes widened in horror at the realization. "Dad?" she said, walking up to him and tapping his arm.

"Hmm? Yes, dear?"

"Llilat, you know how the whole Earth Realm was searched and we couldn't find Link?"

Her father sighed and continued before Llilat could answer. "Zelda, I know you're worried about him, but now-"

Pure fear and concern were clear in her voice. "If he's nowhere to be found, then that leaves only one possible place…"

The adults' eyes widened as they realized where Zelda was going with this.

Link had gone to the Giants' Sanctuary.


	4. Chapter 4

Part One – Chapter 4

"O-kaaaay… Thaaaaat's disgusting…" Link clarified as he watched the sticky substance that clung to his boot and the ground stretch beyond his leg's limit. The skulltula had instantly fled from Link as if sensing its imminent death approaching, and so it was a wild cuccoo chase to catch up with the thing just to get his revenge, although he regretted on deciding to squish it with his foot, as its insides now refused to let go. Talk about karma.

When he finally scrapped the remnants off on a nearby tree root, he continued on his way in the direction of loud noises.

Several monkeys swung about in the branches overhead, chattering away in…fear…? They seemed pretty spooked about something, but then again, in a place full of massive Dragons, there was a pretty good reason to be.

Link came to a small patch in the forest where the foliage thickened heavily. The grass beneath him was covered in small yellow flowers, and the space above him was engulfed in vines covered with menacing thorns. He thought it was a pretty strange contrast, but judging from the Dragon he encountered earlier, he could only guess that the forest was becoming a jungle. Ferns and other plants with incredibly large leaves adorned the ground as well, some with beautiful orange and pink flowers blooming atop them. Sunlight still filtered through the treetops, causing glorious golden rays to streak downwards onto the ground. The amount of colour that this area produced was blinding. Literally blinding. The sunlight was no aid in navigating through the greenery, and Link wound up bumping into a strangely thin tree trunk. He rubbed his nose from the contact and brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the annoying light.

 _Since when were tree trunks green and spikey?_ he thought, mentally slapping himself for his stupidity a few seconds later. _Wait…_ Link's eyes widened as the object he'd bumped into shifted slightly, followed by a low growl. _Din have mercy…_ He sidestepped out of the sun's ray so he could see better, and he looked up to meet the annoyed glare of a frighteningly terrifying Dragon.

Its main colouration was a dull leaf-green, and a brilliant yellow claimed its underbelly, wings, and chilling snake-like eyes. Its head and neck were thick and bulky, and its body was toned with muscle. Two large fangs protruded from its top lip and guarded its chin threateningly. The snout had three small brown horns positioned in a straight line, and were curved back slightly. Atop the back of its head sat two longer horns of the same colour, and a second pair of these were situated just behind its jawbone. Above its shoulders was yet another pair of horns, except these curved forwards around its neck, much like warthog tusks. Trailing along down its back, starting from the top of its head all the way down to its tail, were a set of the same colour brown spikes that curved just like the small horns atop the snout. The tip of the tail had a large, leaf-like shape that was also coloured yellow, and the edges of it were surrounded by small spikes.

The Dragon was currently sitting on its haunches, the legs themselves thin but sturdy, and were what Link bumped into. At this height, it was as tall as three full-grown men standing on each other's shoulders, and if it stood normally, even its body was still taller than Link.

The blonde-haired boy hoped that this would be like the previous encounter, but this appeared to be the total opposite, as the Dragon immediately started growling and baring its off-white razors. It turned completely around to face him properly, and it spread its wings to make it appear even bigger than it already was. The young Hylian chuckled nervously.

"Uhm, hi…?"

The Dragon responded by letting out an earth-shattering roar that forced Link to cover his ears, and he wasted no time in bolting away from the enraged reptile. The thorny Dragon chased after him in hot pursuit, despite having the disadvantage of foliage in its way. Link felt his heart working extra hard to pump blood around his adrenaline-filled body, and his legs began to burn immensely. _Great. This is what I get for pointlessly chasing a skulltula around,_ he thought as he leaped over a log and splashed into a small puddle. He used the thin trees that he was passing as leverage to push himself forward and gain a little more acceleration. He didn't dare look back, already knowing how close the Dragon was due to the loud crashes that took place behind him. A flurry of leaves swirled around him as he ran, and even more collected in front of him as the beast thundered though the trees. The soles of his feet felt like they were on fire from the rate that they were pounding against the ground as he tried desperately to escape death. He wouldn't regret coming here so long as he remained in one piece.

He heard a snap and a thud directly behind him as the Dragon's jaws tried again and again to take a messy chunk out of him – or just rip his torso from his legs. He looked upwards at an approaching mass of grey that he recognized as a humongous rock wall. Had he reached the other end of the Sanctuary already? His gaze landed upon the tunnel that was barely visible through the plant-life. To his dismay, it was large enough for the stampeding Dragon to follow. He dashed inside anyway, using the lack of obstacles as an opportunity to sprint as fast as he could. The tunnel was surprisingly long, but it came to an end nonetheless, although it certainly didn't lead back to the safety of Earth Realm. The tunnel opened out to a large clearing that looked more like a forest again, with a towering waterfall off to the right. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he saw the monstrosity that stood before him.

The Dragon that was chasing him shrieked in surprise at its victim coming to a sudden stop, and only just managed to avoid flattening the boy. It growled and glared down at him, but stopped when it followed Link's horrified gaze.

There, standing taller than any creature imaginable and blotting out the sun, was an impossibly large Dragon that made the two individuals feel like ants. Its scales were jet black and had a lavender underbelly. The wings, back spikes, and eyes were blood-red, and a dark purple pattern traced down its back and spiraled up its left foreleg. Its wings were tattered and torn – the wings of a Dragon who had fought many fights. The end of its tail adopted a lavender triangle with four grey spikes attached. The four grey horns on its head were curved forward and angled down slightly like a bull's.

"I don't know about you, but t-that thing looks like it b-belongs in the Shadow Realm…" stuttered Link to the Dragon beside him. Said reptile grunted back in agreement. "Let's just…back away…slowly…" The two of them gradually began walking backwards, their eyes locked onto the figure looming way above them. However, it had already noticed them by now, and it lowered its monstrous head down to their level. It growled and bared its teeth for a few seconds, the tension practically killing the two victims already. It finally threw its head back and bellowed a petrifying roar that shook the ground and caused several rocks to fall nearby. There was no doubting that the whole Earth Realm heard that.

Link glanced at the Dragon that had been chasing him. Just a few minutes ago it had held a look of fierce intimidation, but now it was replaced by pure fear. Its eyes widened even more before taking off back through the tunnel.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Link cried, no longer caring that he would be following his former attacker.

The young Hylian finally caught up to the green Dragon, the both of them panting frantically. Link looked back and, to his horror, found the gargantuan Dragon climbing over the rock wall they had just escaped from. It wouldn't be long before it would be on top of them. Why it was bothering with them, he didn't know. He just wanted to get out of there.

The Dragon that was running alongside him was in sheer panic mode, something it had probably never experience before. The monster of a reptile was now not too far away, and was catching up faster than Link wanted. The thorny lizard spread open its magnificent wings, preparing for a take-off escape.

"W-wait! You're not gonna leave me, are you?" Link pleaded, searching the Dragon's eyes for any sign of remorse. It glanced at him for a second or two before looking away and taking to the skies, leaving Link to scramble away on foot. This distracted the boy for too long, and he tripped over a root that arched out of the soil, trapping his ankle. His fearful eyes looked back to find the jet black Dragon seconds away from reaching him, provoking him to rush in a desperate attempt to free his foot before his world went dark. He tugged and tugged until he eventually ripped one end of the root out of the ground. No hesitation was present as he instantly sprang back up and continued to run. However, it was far too late, for the massive jaws of death were already launching themselves at the fleeing boy. Link stopped and turned around. He closed his eyes and brought his arms in front of his face, accepting his fate. This was it. He was going to die.

The breath was knocked out of him as his chest was gripped tightly and he was ripped from the ground. He dared not open his eyes for fear of seeing something he regretted. A dash of cold air whipped him in the face and he felt light-headed. Blood gushed around his body in a mad adrenaline rush as he felt himself being tossed about, flipping over and over. His face then suddenly hit something hard, as did the rest of his body a second later.

 _Ow… Sweet Nayru's love; what in Din's name is going on?_ Link thought as he finally decided to open his eyes. "What the…?!"

The sight before him was the last thing he expected.

He found himself placed directly on the back of the green Dragon that was his former attacker. And they were in the air. Flying. Escaping. Together.

Confusion was the only thing that engulfed Link's mind as he hesitantly gripped the tusk-like horns in front of him. They acted as pretty good handles, so a saddle was probably never necessary – if Link was ever to ride this Dragon again, which was unlikely. His legs fit nicely in between the wings and the horns, and there was a bare gap in the back spikes where he sat, so thankfully he could ride comfortably without attaining any injuries.

He looked behind him and gazed upon the horrific sight of the giant of all Giant Dragons gaining on them. Its humongous red wings beat in a slow, steady pace as if it wasn't even trying. Teeth that made swords look like twigs stuck out triumphantly from its jaws, gleaming in the sunlight, ready to pierce anything that came close to the mouth.

Link quickly looked away towards the head of his mount. Its eyes were focused and were strained on the space in front of them, keeping a close watch for anything that they might collide with. Link finally decided to address the Dragon just to make sure that he was safe.

"…Why did you save me?"

The reptile only responded by giving Link a quick backwards glance before looking ahead again.

Link wished he could enjoy this, but not only was there a giant monstrosity following them, there was also the fact that being in the air only forced memories of Druid to flood back into his mind. He told himself that he wouldn't let that happen again, that he wouldn't let another Dragon die because of him, but right now he was at the mercy of not one, but _two_ Giant Dragons, so control over his actions was out of the question.

The smaller Dragon suddenly let out a shriek as a blast from the other's mouth zoomed past them and collided with the cliff-face that they were passing. A huge chunk spilt away from the rock and came plummeting down, pulling several other bits of debris with it. Link seemed to be the only one to notice this, and he let out a horrified scream as the only thing visible in front of his eyes was Druid's last moments alive.

The green serpent was instantly alerted of the lethal projectile that was seconds away from crashing on top of them. Tucking its wings as close to its body as possible, it dipped its snout downwards and dove for the river below them. This sudden change of direction jerked Link back into the real world, and he allowed himself to focus on what was currently happening.

Just as they were about to plunge into the water, the Dragon twisted in the air and then scaled directly upwards away from the falling mass. The rock landed with a colossal splash and sent a spray of water shooting through the air, of which the pursuing Dragon burst through with a loud and aggravated roar.

Link held on for dear life as his ride banked heavily to the right, entering a long and narrow valley. Cliffs rose up on either side and the trees all grew to the same height. In the far distance, the river that they were following ended abruptly and fell over another towering cliff that opened up to a whole other section of the Giants' Sanctuary. Link held his mouth agape as he realized just how vast the Sanctuaries were. He also realized that there wasn't much space to maneuver in such a tight valley, and right now they were as vulnerable as a lone cuccoo in an open field. He was forced to place his full trust in this Dragon who had (for some unknown reason) saved his life.

It seemed to know what it was doing however, and it swiftly dodged incoming attacks with ease. A dive here, a mid-air corkscrew there, frantic flapping everywhere – all Link had to do was just not fall.

They were fast approaching the end of the valley and they were still pulling through unscathed. Although Link didn't think that that would last for much longer, since the dark Dragon was right on their tails and would be able to snap them up in one bite with just a few more wingbeats. His heart was thumping like a herd of fleeing horses and his breathing was a hurricane through his lungs as he gazed upon his death-bringer. Its ghastly jaws opened to once more reveal its gaping throat – the place that the duo was headed if they didn't make like Farore and hurry up.

"Oh the Goddesses…" Link exclaimed as he watched the top jaw appear above them, encasing them in the shadow it created.

All of a sudden, Link's Dragon snapped to the left and out of harm's way just as the jaws clamped shut, and before Link could even comprehend what just happened, they proceeded to dash down a cavern that was formed in the cliff-face. It was just big enough to allow the Dragon to fly smoothly, but nowhere near enough to allow any part of the enemy to follow. Said enemy's roars and growls of frustration unnervingly echoed behind them, finally fading into nothing as the tunnels gradually opened out.

The thorny reptile landed carefully on the soft grass near one of the exits back into the Earth Realm. Link hesitated before sliding off, thankful to be back on steady ground. An awkward tension was placed between Hylian and Dragon, even after the boy broke the silence.

"Sooo… Truce?" he said, giving the predator a sheepish smile. It stared at him for a few seconds as if silently agreeing with him, and then it simply turned around and headed for the Sanctuary. It had to climb a small rock pile in order to do so, and when it reached the top, it looked back at the blonde, uncertain of letting him go like this. Link stared back with a blank expression and stood stock-still while he waited for it to do something. The Dragon's eyes flickered to the ground for a moment, and then at last disappeared amongst the foliage, not looking back again. Link too lowered his gaze and sighed, eventually bringing himself to turn away and head back.

He couldn't believe it. He was actually going to miss that Dragon.

Link had definitely not expected to find his village running around in a blind panic. Had his disappearance caused that much of a disturbance?

 _I gotta find Zel and tell her what I saw,_ he thought as he darted towards the Great Tree which was bustling with guards. _Man, she must have been worried sick about me…_

He found her pacing about her room, one hand under her chin and the other wrapped around her torso. The dying sunlight was gently filling up the room, highlighting her glorious golden hair. _Come on, no time to admire her! Snap out of it!_ He shook his head vigorously and finally approached her.

"Hey, Zelda, I'm b-WHA!" he cried as she flung herself onto him in an instant. She wasted no time in sobbing into his shoulder and shouting how much he had made her worry.

"WHERE DID YOU GO?! I'VE SEARCHED THE WHOLE EARTH REALM LOOKING FOR YOU AND I WAS ALMOST ABOUT TO GO DIVING INTO THE GIANTS' SANCTUARY MYSELF!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm fine, okay?" _On second thought, maybe I shouldn't tell her everything…_

He gently lifted her chin with his index finger so he could look at her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her face was twisted with hurt. She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest, her voice softening as she spoke.

"I thought you were dead…"

Link's eyes widened. He never intended to allow her to think that. He calmly stroked her head and kept her as close as possible.

"But I'm not, and I'm here now. I'm sorry I scared you, Zel," he said, his voice lowering to almost a whisper.

They stood there in silence for a long while, not ever breaking apart. Link promised himself that he would never venture anywhere anymore without telling Zelda first. Clearly she needed to know where he was at all times so she wouldn't break down, and he hated seeing her cry over him.

Link was finally able to lead her over to her bed so the both of them could sit down comfortably. Zelda's tears had now ceased and only slight sniffles remained. Link pondered on how to begin, but found that Zelda started for him.

"You went to the Giants' Sanctuary, didn't you…?"

The Hylian boy sighed and didn't hesitate to tell her the truth. "…Yes, I did. It was stupid and I shouldn't have. But Rayan ran into me earlier and…just pushed me over the edge." Zelda scoffed at the mention of the Fire Realm boy. "So yeah, I only wanted to see how close I could get to a Giant so I would have a story to tell to that smug idiot."

Zelda seemed to search his face before replying. "So, what _did_ happen? And even more than that, how are you still alive?"

Link took a deep breath. "Well, _a lot_ happened, so I'll keep it brief. When I entered, I wandered around for a bit before sliding down a steep slope, bringing two Guardians with me." He chuckled at the memory. "After that, I came across the first Giant. It was only a fruit-eater though, so I had nothing to worry about apart from the skulltula that crawled onto my foot."

"Oh, Nayru knows how well you handled that. For a guy who loves animals, I can't believe you hate bugs so much."

The blonde boy laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I kinda freaked out and flailed all over the place." He couldn't help but subtly blush at the sweet giggle that left Zelda's mouth. Over the years of knowing her, he had learned not to be afraid of being clumsy. She had actually told him once that she found it cute, although he still wanted to maintain some level of manliness. "But I wasn't going to let it get away with that, so I squished it."

"Eww."

"Yup. Anyway, there weren't any more Giant Dragons for a long time. It was really weird, you know? I mean, I would have expected to see loads, but there were hardly any."

"Well, the Giants' Sanctuaries _are_ huge, so you were probably still just on the outskirts."

"Yeah, I think I was. But I soon ran into another Giant a little later, and boy was this thing deadly-looking." Zelda physically gulped. "It was freakishly tall and covered in horns, and it made no hesitation in attacking me."

Zelda's head fell back in frustration. " _Please_ tell me you brought something to defend yourself with!"

Link only grinned sheepishly and hunched his shoulders, resulting in the girl face-palming herself with a pained look.

"So, long story short, I ran away from it and kept a good distance until-"

Link paused, unsure of how to end his story without mentioning the dark monstrosity.

"Until…?"

"I, uh…ran into a cave that was too small for it to enter. I kept a low profile from then on while I searched for the nearest exit back into the Earth Realm."

"Ooo-kay…?"

 _Way to go, Link. There's no way she believed that,_ Link thought, mentally slapping himself. It was then he suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask her. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Why the village is in such a panic?"

"…I swear you have mind-reading abilities."

The two laughed before Zelda answered, and her face fell serious.

"I probably wouldn't have worried about you as much had the entire Earth Realm not heard a vicious roar coming from the Giants' Sanctuary." Link's expression beheld pure shock and Zelda's voice wavered in fear as she continued. "It happened while I was visiting Llilat to see if her Dragon had found you. The whole ground shook, and the noise alone drowned out anything else that should have been heard. No one has any idea what it was, not even Llilat. The only thing that's been confirmed was the fact that it came from the Giants' Sanctuary." She paused for a moment, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "Are you sure you didn't see anything else while you were there? Nothing…suspicious?"

"Nope…!"

"You're a really bad liar, Link."

The boy sighed. "I know." Silence once again fell over them and they refused to make eye-contact. They found the bedsheets particularly interesting all of a sudden.

When Link finally opened his mouth again to speak, a horrified scream followed by angry shouts of protest came from below them, causing the two teenagers to exchange frightened glances before dashing off to see what the problem was.

The first thing that the two of them saw was blood. The second thing that they saw was something that should never have been possible.

A young Hylian girl, probably at the age of six, was being savagely assaulted by three angry Guardians. Zelda screamed upon the sight, but before she could latch onto Link's arm, he raced forward in an attempt to pry the small Dragons' jaws away from the girl. They were furiously intent on killing her, and he was determined to find out why. He grabbed the first one by the neck which caused it to let go immediately. He flung it into the air and it hastily flew off in defeat. He then moved onto the second one ready to do the same thing, but it had other ideas. Its target immediately changed from the girl's leg to Link's, resulting in him screaming in pain. His eyes widened when he recognized it as the history teacher's Shoulder Dragon; that thing was NEVER hostile. There had to be a reason that these Dragons were suddenly attacking. It just wasn't like them.

At last, someone else joined Link in order to help him. He looked up into the concerned yet rage-filled eyes of Zelda's father, whose first move was to rid Link's leg of the Dragon. With a grip like iron, he wrapped one burly hand around the Guardian and tossed it away with ease.

"Are you okay, Link?" he asked. Link nodded and went back to the girl. The remaining Guardian now realized that it was outnumbered, and so it flew off without a moment's hesitation. The girl was still alive, but had passed out from lack of blood. "Fetch a nurse, now!" Zelda's father barked, and a young woman quickly scurried away to find someone who could tend to the girl's wounds.

Link turned around to see if Zelda was okay. Her hands were clamed to her mouth and her eyes were once again filled with tears. No one had ever seen Guardian Shoulder Dragons attack a person like a school of hungry piranhas, which was probably why the girl hadn't received help until Link came along. Everyone was simply too stunned.

The blonde boy had only taken one step towards the trembling female when an even bigger threat sounded behind him.

An angry hiss emitted from the throat of a Soul Dragon that had been watching the horror unfold, and there came a heavy thud as it landed just in front of the unconscious girl. Link turned sharply back around, as did Zelda's father. The both of them prepared to rush the Dragon as its head slowly dipped towards the girl's body, drool pouring from its mouth.

All of a sudden, its advance stopped and its eyes widened as if realizing something. The already narrow slit-like pupils of its eyes almost disappeared within the Dragon's irises. The reptile's gaze was brought back up and rested on something in front of it.

That something was Zelda.

Without warning, the mysteriously enraged Soul Dragon lunged forward and knocked Zelda to the ground.

"LIIINK!" she screamed in fright as its teeth came dangerously close to her face.

Hearing her call his name snapped the boy straight into protection mode. He sprinted forward and gripped the Dragon by its horns. With all his might, he gradually wrenched the seething predator back and away from his crush. However, the Dragon was persistent and obviously didn't want to give up until it saw the Hylian girl dead. With yet another growl, it thrashed its head about in order to throw Link off. The boy was whacked in the torso by its bulky head and he was sent flying backwards.

Link groaned in pain as he lifted himself from the ground, pleased to see that Zelda had been moved from the spot. The Dragon roared in frustration and proceeded to attack everything within range. A chain reaction seemed to spark within Dragons from all around the Great Tree, and before long, people were being dive-bombed, set alight, and downright shredded to pieces.

Zelda's father charged the Soul Dragon that had attacked his daughter so as to hold it back from anyone still left in the vicinity. He turned to Link while he wrestled with its head.

"LINK! FIND ZELDA AND GET HER TO SOMEWHERE SAFE! GO! I'LL BE FINE!"

The teen garbed in green nodded and raced down the tree.

Link found Zelda backed up against a wall, a blood-thirsty Dragon slowly creeping up to her. She looked as though fear had eaten her alive and was now feeding off the scraps, although that was what the Dragon was about to do if Link didn't act fast. He bolted straight for the Dragon's back and ran straight up its spine. Before it even noticed him, he sprung into the air and came crashing down on its neck, causing its skull to bash on the ground and temporarily stun it.

"Zelda! Come on!" he cried, grabbing her arm and yanking her towards the exit. She yelped at Link's sudden strength, but allowed him to pull her nonetheless.

Outside, they were met with utter chaos. While not every Dragon was attacking, a majority of them certainly were. Houses were lit on fire as well as the foliage around them, and even the occasional resident was running around encased in flames, screaming their lungs off as they slowly died. Zelda huddled close to Link as they looked around for a safe path to take – it seemed like everywhere was occupied by one or two of the ravenous carnivores. The dark blue-grey sky above was filled with the flying reptiles, their bursts of flame casting eerie shades of orange among the ground. Screams of horror and roars of rage practically burst the two teens' ears. The smoke-filled air clogged their noses as they struggled to breathe, and it wasn't long before they were coughing and wheezing. The grey substance seemed to be trailing out from behind them – straight from the base of the Great Tree.

Link made no haste as he pushed Zelda out of the way of the hyper-active flames that suddenly erupted from the large opening. The heat blasted them in the face and the sheer potency of it forced them to shield their heads with their arms. Zelda suddenly looked upwards at the tree to see more than half of it alight with bursts of bright orange. Her eyes watered as the flames themselves seemed to cackle and mock her.

"FATHER!" she cried, about to dash forward. Link stopped her and spun her around to face him.

"Listen, your father is the captain of the Earth Realm Guard for a reason. Not all of the tree is on fire, so I'm sure that he's gone to the top to find his Dragon," he reassured her.

"Do you even see what is happening around us?! What if his Dragon has turned hostile too?! What if he can't get out?!" she snapped, stomping her foot down in protest.

"Hey! Thinking like that is only going to make things worse. I can find us a – LOOK OUT!"

Link wrapped his arms around her and tumbled to the ground, proceeding to roll them both out of the way of a falling flame-covered branch. It hit the ground and just barely missed them, sending small amber-coloured ashes in all directions.

Link found himself crouching over Zelda and just about managed to suppress the pink heat rising in his cheeks. Now was NOT the time.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern shrouding his eyes. Zelda nodded in response and the two of them got back up.

Link's shout had unwillingly caught the attention of three Soul Dragons off to their left, their faces splotched with burns and blood and their snouts curved in an angry snarl. Several moments of agonizing tension passed as predator stared at prey, neither one moving a single muscle. Beads of sweat ran down Link's face as he gritted his teeth and held Zelda's hand tightly.

One of the Dragons then made an abrupt dash at the two, causing the others to follow suite.

"RUN!" Link yelled, making sure that Zelda was in front. The Hylian girl didn't need to be told twice, and she sped along as fast as her legs could carry her.

Fiery debris fell from the treetops above them and other rampaging Dragons blocked their pathways, forcing the teens to change direction every so often. One of the three Soul Dragons that were chasing them was crushed by a falling tree as it ran, and its body proceeded to catch on fire a few seconds later.

"Well, that takes care of one!" Zelda huffed, slowly beginning to lose stamina. Link noticed this and looked behind him, desperately trying to think of a way to lose the carnivores. The one closest to him was almost within biting range, so he had to think of something _fast_. He had to make sure that Zelda stayed in front of him, but if she slowed down any more, Link would become Dragon chow. It was then he spotted the lake not too far away. He rushed forward and picked Zelda up bridal-style, earning a surprised yelp from her. Now that he could run as fast as he wanted, he could make up for lost ground and get a little ahead of the Dragons before they figured out what he was up to.

He was coming up to one of the fishing shacks that was still intact, or least it was a few moments ago before a non-hostile Dragon suddenly burst out through the wooden walls. Link misplaced his footing as he tried to avoid running into it with Zelda in his arms, and so tripped and fell somewhat lopsided.

The two ravenous Dragons were unable to stop however, and they crashed headfirst into the reptilian obstacle. Link saw his opportunity to get away. He picked Zelda up again, apologized for the small graze she had attained on her elbow, and made a mad dash for the lake.

"Hold your breath!" he warned as he leaped off the edge of the dock and into the freezing water.

The two teenagers soon came bursting up for air, sending water droplets everywhere as they gasped for breath, especially after running so much. Zelda grasped onto Link and squeezed her eyes shut, praying to the Goddesses for safety. The blonde boy, after shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water, looked past the bank of the lake to see what had become of the other three Dragons. Judging from how the first two were ripping apart the newcomer, non-hostiles weren't welcome in this new war between man and Dragon.

Link looked down at Zelda, who was still clinging onto him for dear life.

"…Are you okay?" he asked. Zelda only shook her head in return. He hoped that only meant that she was still shaken by everything going on around them. "Come on, we need to at least find a better place to hide than the water." The girl nodded and paddled alongside him to the other edge of the lake. He helped her climb out and did his best to counter her complaints of wearing wet clothes. He then gently grabbed her hand and led her to a more remote part of the Earth Realm.

Link and Zelda sat underneath a nearby bush, hoping to regain some lost energy. There wasn't as much action in the area that they currently resided, so such a rest was safe so long as they kept a low profile. Zelda was still in a pretty bad state with tears slowly flowing down her cheeks and silent sobs emitting from her trembling body every now and then. Link had one arm wrapped around her as he tried to reassure her. Everything was so overwhelming; no one had expected this to happen. But then again, Link thought back to what Zelda had told him before everything went down. He knew that the Earth Realm had all heard the roar of what he saw in the Giants' Sanctuary, and he really didn't want to think that it was somehow connected to all this. That thing was WAY too giant to be a normal Dragon.

After a few more minutes, Link beckoned Zelda to her feet, and they proceeded to dart to more nearby cover. They were beginning to near the border of the Water Realm because of all the telltale rivers and lakes that dotted this part of the Earth Realm. Wooden docks and bridges adorned the bodies of water and small shacks were set along the edges of some. A few Hylians and Zoras were in the area too, some trying to stay calm and some just downright panicking like a herd of frightened deer.

The two young Hylians looked back to the flaming Great Tree that still towered over them even from this distance. Dragons still flew about killing everything and anything that wasn't on their side. Link tugged Zelda's arm, letting her know that they needed to keep moving. However, she wouldn't budge. Her eyes were fixed on something in the sky, and it wasn't until Link saw the group of at least thirty Dragons heading their way did he pick Zelda up again and make a break for it. She soon snapped out of her trance though, and she begged Link to put her down. He quickly complied and led her by the hand again.

Dragons landed around them in all directions, beginning to wreak havoc on anything that wasn't dead or destroyed yet.

"NO! LILYPAD, PLEASE, IT'S ME!" cried a Zora who was victimized by his own Soul Dragon. He was down on the ground and had his hand held out in front of him, trying to reason with the Dragon that had clearly lost its mind. His desperate cries and pleas did nothing for him, and Zelda had to cover her eyes as the poor Zora was eaten alive.

"We need to get out of here before we attract unwanted attention," Link ordered, Zelda nodding in agreement.

They navigated through the once again raging chaos, looking for any way out of this mess. Link quickly looked behind him to see how Zelda was doing. She was keeping up well and appeared to be getting used to the current events, as she was no longer crying. Link mustered a small smile at this, but just as he was about to look forward again, he promptly bumped into what felt like a tree. Zelda proceeded to crash into his back, causing him to bash himself against the tree again.

"Sorry," she said with a small smile. That smile soon faded when she looked up. Link followed her gaze, and was shockingly met with those same yellow snake-like eyes of the Dragon that had both chased and saved him in the Giants' Sanctuary.

The green Giant turned its head to see what had annoyingly run into its leg, and its eyes widened when it saw the Hylian boy.

Zelda screamed and turned tail in the direction they just came from, but stopped when she noticed that Link wasn't following her. He was still standing directly in front of the Giant Dragon, completely frozen in place.

"LINK! WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_!? RUN!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes once again as she feared for Link's safety. He made no response and just continued to stand there.

"…Well, this scene is familiar," he said at last with a nervous chuckle. A few sounds emitted from the Dragon's throat as if replying.

Silence endured as nothing else happened between them – Link wasn't sure if neither of them knew what to do or if the Dragon was pondering whether to end their little truce. He hoped it was the former.

The awkward silence was broken as an earth-shattering roar broke out from near the Great Tree, followed by the sound of a rockslide. The three of them turned sharply to the noise, recognizing it immediately. To their horror, their suspicions were confirmed.

Zelda gasped as she witnessed the Dragon that was entering the Earth Realm. The humongous black mass slithered out of a cascade of rocks that had been crumbled by its weight. Its tattered blood-red wings were raised in a threatening manner and its tail thrashed about in all directions, destroying and killing everything that it hit.

As far as Zelda was concerned, something like that shouldn't have even existed. Her hands shook like a leaf and her knees felt weak beneath her weight. She was almost about ready to collapse at the mere sight of the creature.

Link, however, saw this coming. He knew that as soon as he saw that beast in the Sanctuary that something was definitely going to go wrong.

The Giant Dragon behind them snarled as it recalled the events from earlier that day. It let out a small growl to grab Link's attention. Said boy looked the Dragon in the eye, unsure of what it wanted. However, he soon got the message when it bent down, moved its wing aside and motioned with its head to climb aboard. Link gave a nod of understanding and swiftly clambered onto the scaly back. He then looked over to where Zelda was standing. Her gaze was still locked onto the impossibly large Dragon, so he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to her.

"Zelda!" She flinched as she snapped back into reality and turned to the direction of Link's voice. Her hands flew to her mouth as she witnessed the boy sitting comfortably on the back of this killer Dragon. His expression was stern and his eyes closed for a moment before reopening them. "…Time to go."

Zelda held tightly onto Link's torso, not daring to ever loosen her grip for fear of her life. It had taken a while, but she had eventually gotten the courage to approach the Giant Dragon and situate herself behind Link. They were now in the air and flying to a safe destination. Link wasn't sure where that was, but he had no choice but to place his trust in this Dragon like he had done before.

Few reptiles were present in their current area, so avoiding them was easy. Besides, not one would even dare to attack a Giant.

The Hylian girl finally allowed herself to relax a little, and thus found her voice again. She decided that now was a good time to question Link and his story.

"So…would you mind telling me exactly what happened, Link?" she asked, looking over the boy's shoulder to glance at him. He nodded and opened his mouth to speak.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you earlier, before we were…uh… _rudely interrupted_ , so to speak," he replied with his usual sarcasm to lighten the mood.

"Go on then."

Link sighed. "When I was running away in the Giants' Sanctuary, I sort of half-lied about the whole cave escape thing. So yes, I did find one and enter it, but this guy here was still able to follow me." He patted the Dragon's neck for further emphasis. It gave a short bark in response.

"But…how did you get away then?"

"I think you already know the answer."

Zelda paused and stared at the air in front of her while she pondered this. "You came across that… _thing_ …and you worked together in order to escape…" she concluded, letting out a small gasp of awe. "Wow, Link…"

"Yeah. Lucky coincidence, huh?"

Zelda smiled and rested her head on his back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"And I'm glad that _we're_ okay. I can imagine that not many people are going to come out of the Earth Realm alive now."

Zelda squeezed his body a little more upon hearing that, both out of relief that she was with him and out of remorse for her home.

A few more moments passed before anything else was said.

"Do you remember what we promised each other yesterday?" Zelda asked.

"About staying by each other's side no matter what?" Link replied, his eyes widening slightly.

Zelda nodded. "Looks like it's time for us to keep that promise." She looked at him and smiled, her eyes full of hope. Link removed one of his hands from the horns in front of him and placed it onto hers that was resting on his stomach, returning the smile. Partially blushing, Zelda looked away for a brief moment while she continued. "Link, I just want you to know that – AHH!"

The two teenagers screamed as their ride suddenly jerked downwards into a dive. Once they leveled out, Link's face twisted in anger and raised a clenched fist in the air.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" he yelled at the Dragon.

"Link! Above us!" Zelda cried, shaking his shoulder.

Another large group of Soul Dragons had appeared out of nowhere, following the lead of an elegant-looking blue Giant Dragon.

Link growled and lowered his fist, finally realizing the thorny Dragon's strange behaviour. "I'll bet my bottom rupee that that thing came from the Water Realm," he stated, returning a firm grip on the tusk-like horn-handles. "Think you can get us out of here?" he then said to the green serpent. It nodded and swiftly turned back the way they came from.

A roar and a few growls came from the Water Realm Giant, obviously giving orders to the inferior Dragons that were following it. Many different pitched screeches sounded in reply, and they split into two groups. One began flying directly above the trio, the other flew directly below, and the Water Giant stayed behind them. The groups suddenly merged to form a large circle so the only direction that the green Giant could go was forward. Zelda clutched Link's body even tighter if it was possible, and the boy's head flickered from all directions trying to look for a way out. His Dragon almost constantly growled at everything the other Dragons did. It flapped its wings as fast and hard as it could, but the others had the lightweight advantage.

"Great. We travelled all that way for nothing," Link scoffed as they neared the centre of the Earth Realm yet again. The Great Tree was still alight with flames, and the jet black monstrosity of a Dragon was still wreaking havoc. The pursing Dragons were beginning to fall back slightly, but the Earth Giant had decided that enough was enough. It grunted in annoyance and dove straight down into the Soul Dragons, earning some surprised and terrified shrieks from them. Now that it had gotten more speed, it was finally able to lose the attackers amongst the continuous flurry that still raged in the sky.

Zelda gasped out of nowhere, catching the attention of the boy and the Dragon. She pointed towards the Great Tree so the two could follow her gaze.

"Link, it's my father! And look – Llilat's with him!"

Indeed, the captain of the Earth Realm Guard was bravely defending the Dragon Whisperer from a Dragon none other than his own. Fire surrounded them on all sides and they were on the highest branch of the tree. Judging from their positions, Zelda's father appeared to be losing.

"Don't worry, Zelda, I hear you," Link said, urging their ride down towards the fiery fight.

"Daddy!" Zelda called, immediately catching his attention. The attacking Dragon and Llilat also looked up to see what was coming their way.

"Zelda?! What in Din's name-" the father cried, his eyes widening upon the sight of his daughter riding a Dragon.

"Hang on!" cried another voice that he instantly recognized as Link's. The boy's Giant thrust itself forward straight into the Soul Dragon, completely knocking it off the tree. Zelda's father held his mouth agape in awe at the sight before him.

"A-a Giant Dragon! Link, how did you…?!"

"Impossible…" Llilat muttered.

"No time to explain; I have to get you out of here!" Link ordered atop his Dragon.

Zelda's father nodded and looked to the Dragon Whisperer, who was already mounting a Dragon that had come to her rescue.

"Don't worry, captain. I'll be fine from here on out," she said, not letting him reply as her Dragon took off.

Zelda's father only took one step when a loud crack was heard from beneath them. Silence came over the four as they made absolutely no movements whatsoever. A small fissure began forming in the wood almost immediately, right in between Zelda's father and the other three.

"Daddy…?" Zelda spoke softly, uncertainty clearly evident in her voice.

"Uh, it's okay! Just make your way over here slowly until you can reach this guy's tail," Link suggested, trying to calm Zelda down. The Giant nodded and lifted its tail over to the captain as far as it would go without moving its feet. However, the father did not budge.

"Zelda, I need you to listen to me," he began, the crack now bigger than before. "No matter what happens, don't give up. You're a smart girl, my daughter, and I know that you won't let anything falter you." He paused for a brief moment. "I love you dearly, my beautiful Zelda."

"Wait, what are you saying?!" the girl cried, tears streaking down her cheeks again for the umpteenth time that day.

Her father then turned to Link. "Link, my boy, I know that I do not need to ask you to protect my daughter, and I know you'll do it well. However, you won't get far without a weapon. Here." He tossed a fine-looking bow and a quiver full of arrows at the blonde boy who caught them with ease. Link's expression was solemn and almost tearful as he examined the arrow-slinger before lifting his gaze back to the captain. "That bow is my best. Use it wisely." Link nodded and slung the quiver over his head and partway down his body. He then did the same with the bow.

It was a beautiful shade of mahogany with intricate silver patterns that resembled Dragons snaking along the wood. The ends of the bow each held a glorious curved blade for melee attacking, and the spots on either side of the handle adopted metal plating, with the green Earth Realm symbol carved and painted onto them.

Zelda's father continued.

"You have a fire in your eyes, Link. A fire that can never be extinguished. You are the new hope for the people of the Earth Realm – they need an eternal flame like yours to keep going." The four looked down as the crack gave way, causing the branch to break away and slant slightly. "I know you'll both do me proud. Farewell, my children."

"No, daddy, NO!" Zelda cried as the branch completely snapped and her father's side plummeted to the ground along with him. She jumped off the back of the green serpent and raced over to the edge, forcing Link to follow suite to hold her back.

"Zelda, it's too late! We can't do anything for him now…" he said, grabbing her shoulders. Zelda said nothing in response as she flung herself onto Link and sobbed profusely. He gently rubbed her back and held her close, letting loose a few small tears himself.

Now they were both parentless.

Once the trio was back in the air, it seemed that every single Dragon was now targeting them. The Earth Giant had to constantly duck and weave its way through the overwhelming number of attackers of which included both Soul AND Giant Dragons. Link's new bow was proving quite useful, as his Dragon was unable to attack from all sides. He hated having to slaughter Dragons because of something that most likely wasn't their fault, but right now it was a matter of survival of the fittest.

"Geeze! How many of these things are there?" Link said, shooting down yet another reptile. His Dragon growled and fired a jet of flame at an incoming attacker from above them, which made it flail uselessly around in the air as the flames consumed it. Link suddenly spotted a small opening in the wave of enemies, and so he called out to the green Giant his plan. "Up there! We might be able to gain some advantage!" The Dragon followed his finger and didn't hesitate to head upwards.

They burst out through the hostile fire-breathers and twisted in the air to level back out – only to find a colossal plume of dark purple flame aimed directly at them. Zelda screamed as the Dragon spun out of control in order to avoid getting seared. With one last final effort, it managed to regain control of its wings and soar back upwards to see what had just happened.

Their previous attacker had been none other than the jet black Giant. It seemed to recognize Link and his Dragon, and so it was now back to being intent on killing them.

Raising up on its haunches, the Dragon's head lunged forward at the three and opened its jaws, ready to snap them up. The green Earth Giant stretched open its wings as far as they could go and made its whole body jerk to a sudden stop to prevent them from flying any further. Once the opposing Giant's jaws closed, the thorny Dragon proceeded to dive to gain lost momentum, and it soon began circling the monstrosity.

It was then that Link spotted something odd just beyond the killer Dragon.

Standing upon the cliff-face of the entrance to the Giants' Sanctuary was a lone figure, who was calmly watching the whole thing unfold. He appeared to be wearing thick armour and a flowing cape, and his build was fairly large and threatening. Link couldn't see his facial features from where he was, but the boy was sure that the figure meant bad news. He was so caught up in the mysterious silhouette that he didn't see the Dragon that was diving down straight for them.

It gave a shriek of triumph as it snatched Zelda straight off the Giant, and since she was previously clutching onto Link, he too was almost brought off with her; it was only because he held onto the Earth Giant's horns that he managed to avoid being carried off. However, once he scrambled back into his original position, Zelda was already too far away to catch up to her.

"LINK!" she cried, reaching a hand out towards the boy.

"ZELDA!" Link cried back, mimicking her hand. He could do nothing but watch as the Dragon brought her over to the lone figure and hover directly in front of him. After he gave a slight wave of his hand, the Dragon then flew down towards the dark Giant and dropped her upon its back. The devilish creature then roared and beat is massive wings, taking to the sky. Every other bloodthirsty Dragon followed, leaving only a few non-hostiles behind that had managed to stay alive.

Link felt helpless as he was unable to do anything. There were too many Dragons surrounding Zelda to rescue her – it would be suicide to try and do so. His eyes were wide with horror and his mouth hung open, his hand ever so slowly dropping back to his side. He bent his head down in shame before throwing it back and screaming to the heavens.

"ZELDAAAA!"


	5. Chapter 5

Part One – Chapter 5

Link's boots kicked up the ground as he walked, his face hidden by his dirty-blonde bangs. He trailed the edge of the Earth Realm where he could be alone. As soon as the black Giant Dragon had left, all mutiny and violence died down almost immediately. Link would have helped out with repairs and such, but after what happened, he really wasn't sure what he could do besides sulk.

Zelda was gone.

Tears silently slid off his cheeks as he forced to place one foot in front of the other. He had no way of knowing whether Zelda was still alive or not, and even if she was, he couldn't just go rescuing her willy-nilly. He didn't know where she was, he had no convenient way of travel, and all he had was a measly bow for a weapon.

Wait.

That bow was her father's.

The father that died believing that Link could hold his promise and protect Zelda. He couldn't have failed worse.

"Why… Why does NOTHING GO RIGHT FOR ME?!" he cried, kicking a tree stump that he was passing. He let out a huff and chose to sit down on it instead, letting his head collapse in his hands. _Goddesses…this is all my fault,_ he thought. He couldn't see where else the blame had to go. It was all on him, and he gladly accepted it. He had witnessed the deaths of Druid, Zelda's father, several innocent people, and possibly Zelda herself. _Just face it, Link. You're never going to see her again…_

His head snapped up to a small rustle in the bushes not too far away, so he decided to get up and keep going.

As he plodded on through the thin forest, he removed the bow from over his shoulder and gently traced the wood with his fingers, admiring the simple beauty it held. He then took one arrow from the quiver and studied the tip.

He might as well relieve some stress.

Link grunted as he pushed the rotting log upright. The thing was surprisingly heavy for its size, but it would make for good target practice. Once he made sure it wouldn't fall over, he jabbed the arrow into the wood and carved several different sized circles. He stood back, satisfied with his work, and went to find a good spot to shoot from.

With his foot, he brushed away the leaves scattered on the ground and drew a small "x" in the dirt so he could remember his position. Now that he could finally do what he came for, he twisted his body so he was facing left and kept his feet evenly spread apart. He lifted the handle of the bow with his right hand and brought it level with his eyes. Then, with his dominant hand, he nocked the arrow he held and drew back the string until it touched his cheek. His elbow was raised high and his back was as straight as humanly possible. He let out several slow breaths, both in and out, before inhaling sharply. His eyes did not blink as his fingers released the string and the arrow went flying. It hit dead centre and the sheer force of it managed to rock the log slightly.

 _Hmm, I guess I overestimated myself,_ Link thought as he smirked to himself. His gaze searched for anything that might prove a challenge for him, and he soon spotted a gold skulltula sitting comfortably on its web in the trees above him. _SCORE!_ his thoughts cried out. Gold skulltula shells were very hard to come by and were often used in making jewelry, armour, and other exquisite items. Link in particular had wanted to make his very own Dragon Whistle from one, and even without a Dragon to call with it, it was still a useful item to have.

The teen garbed in green nocked another arrow onto the bow and repeated his process from earlier. The arrow hit right in the arachnid's soft underbelly, and the creature fell to the ground at Link's feet. Its legs curled inward as it continued to twitch, making him cringe a little. When its movements finally came to a standstill, he picked it up and examined the gold exterior. It was just the right size for crafting the beloved instrument; now all he had to do was remove it from the bug's back.

He yanked the arrow that he had used out of its body and stuck it underneath the rim of the metal-like casing. He then carefully began to pry it from the skulltula like he had seen others do, and after a minute or two, he had a perfectly intact gold skulltula shell. He dropped the arachnid onto the ground and held the shell in the air, giving an enthusiastic, "Yeah!" His gaze then fell to the dead creature. "Okay… Nothing else to do here…" he said as he quickly stepped away. He really wanted to get the sight of the sticky and gooey back of the spider out of his head.

Grabbing a large leaf, Link wiped the icky substance from the inside of the shell. He then tossed the leaf aside and turned the shell over and over, staring at it as if it were a trophy.

"Heh, just wait until I tell Ze-"

That was the last thing he needed: the memory of Zelda being ripped from his grasp playing in his mind on repeat. This instantly returned the depressing guilt to his being, and so he trudged along having completely forgotten about his victory with the skulltula.

For another half-hour he walked, thinking of nothing else but Zelda and how he failed to protect her. He wasn't sure if he was glad that her father was dead, because he would rather die himself than tell the captain that his daughter was gone, especially after promising that he would keep her safe.

Another rustle sounded from behind him as he kept going. This had been continuing for a while now, and he was certain he was being followed. By who though, he didn't know. Maybe Pokot if he was still alive.

However, when Link didn't turn around, the rustle's volume increased, followed by heavy lumbering footsteps. Link rolled his eyes and hunched his shoulders, now knowing who it was immediately.

"Quit following me, you overgrown thorn-vine…" he said darkly to the reptile behind him. The footsteps didn't cease, and the Giant Dragon continued to follow him. Link stopped at last and turned harshly around, throwing his arms in the air. "What do you want?!" The Dragon did nothing but stop and stare at him with curiosity in its eyes. "If you came to eat me, then now is a _really_ bad time, because I'm afraid I'm a little _bitter_ right now." The serpent slowly lowered its bulky head down to Link's level and purred lightly. _Exactly what Druid did on the day of the Choosing Ceremony…_ the boy thought, his eyes widening and his left hand unconsciously reaching for the Giant's snout. No sooner had one finger rested upon the rough scales, Link felt a bizarre and strong energy surge through him, much stronger than when he connected with Druid. _Is it because this is a Giant Dragon? Wait, what am I thinking?! HOW AM I EVEN CONNECTING TO TWO DRAGONS?!_ his mind screamed, but he no longer cared once his whole arm was stroking the creature softly.

It had become his new Soul Dragon.

The wind smacked Link in the face as he rode atop his Dragon, but he was used to that by now. They were heading back to the centre of the Earth Realm to see what could be done, and now that he had a Giant to help him, he could possibly find out what happened to Zelda and where she was.

"Hey, Thorn-Vine, think you could go a little faster?" Link called out. He had taken much amusement in constantly using a sarcastic insult to address the Dragon, and now he couldn't resist using it at all.

" _ **I will when you stop calling me that,**_ " the green serpent growled, clearly annoyed by his companion's nickname that he was now forced to adopt.

"Aw, come on, I think it suits you!"

" _ **You're just taking advantage of the fact that we can now communicate without confusion.**_ "

"No, I'm serious! It really does suit you!"

Thorn-Vine merely snorted in response.

"Gee, are all Giant Dragons this up-tight?"

" _ **Don't make me regret ever choosing to bind our souls."**_

Link raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you _chose_ to bind our souls? So does that mean that any Giant Dragon can bond with anyone? The souls don't have to be compatible?"

" _ **No, you have the wrong idea. After I dropped you off, something made me want to stick by you to see if you were okay, so I followed you. It was then I realized that our souls**_ **were** _ **compatible and were destined for one another, but I could have chosen to just leave you. Now do you get it?**_ "

"Yeah, thanks. But, hang on a second… How are our souls destined to bind if I was already bound?"

" _ **Already bound? I sense no trace of a Soul-Binding. You should know as well as I do that none can be bound more than once unless you're a Dragon Whisperer.**_ "

"I…" Link couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was as if Druid had never connected with him at all.

"… _ **Are you saying that you already had a Soul Dragon?**_ "

"Well, yeah, I mean… On the day of the Choosing Ceremony – you know that that is, right?"

Thorn nodded.

"On the day of the Choosing Ceremony, I was bound to a Soul Dragon. His name was Druid. However, he and I had only been together for a day before I…foolishly entered the training program to become a knight. We were at the last stretch…and a rock fell…"

Link needed to say no more. Thorn completely understood what had happened.

" _ **Hmm, perhaps we were able to bind due to Druid's passing. The Dragon's soul leaves this world and a spot then becomes available.**_ "

"Yeah, that makes sense, I guess."

Silence endured as the smoking Great Tree approached rapidly. Thorn-Vine dipped his wings downward and gracefully skimmed along before coming to rest on the ground. The duo caught the surprised attention of everyone in the area, and Link was immediately bombarded with questions. He tried his best to answer them all, but people just kept nagging him about it. Thorn noticed Link's struggles and hissed loudly whilst flaring his wings, letting everyone know to back off.

"Heh, thanks, buddy," Link said quietly, patting his Dragon on the neck.

" _ **Don't mention it,**_ " Thorn replied.

Link slipped off the serpent's back and unclipped the gold skulltula shell from his belt.

"Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to head over to the smithy to get a Dragon Whistle crafted. Or at least somewhere that I can make one if the smithy no longer exists…" He showed the shell to Thorn, who nodded in approval.

" _ **Lead the way, then. Now that we're bound, a Dragon Whistle sounds like a good idea.**_ "

Getting through the crowd was a breeze thanks to the large lizard trailing after him. Anyone who was in his way gasped either in awe or terror and stepped back, allowing Link to pass.

The blonde glanced at the demolished homes and their still-burning embers along the way, some of them still containing carcasses that were yet to be carried off. There were Zoras running frantically about the place with their Dragons, trying to extinguish all the remaining flames before more real fires started up again.

"I can't imagine how frightened the Zoras must be. They're used to travelling the Realms to help put out fires and help with water problems and such, but having to travel with rogue Dragons roaming around? It must be terrifying," Link commented as he walked.

" _ **They probably won't be here for long. They'll want to return to the safety of their Realm as soon as possible,**_ " Thorn replied.

Rounding another corner, the usual location of one of the Earth Realm's blacksmiths came into view. Link breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that it was still standing and not just another pile of rubble, ash, and burnt wood. Or at least, for the most part it was still okay-looking. A section of it had been visibly smashed, probably where a Dragon had crashed into it.

Link poked his head in the doorway and lightly racked the wood with his knuckles. A familiar and tired face soon greeted him with the utmost glee. A face that _wasn't_ the blacksmith.

"Ah! Link, m'boy! You're alive!"

Link's eyes widened in both surprise and relief. "Mr. McCarp!" The old man chuckled.

"I know, I know. Ya must be thinkin' that 'twas impossible for an ol' crab like m'self to have lived through that. Well this brittle figure still has some fight left, it does!" Mr. McCarp cried joyfully.

"Whoa, I'm just glad you're okay! But what are you doing in here, anyway?"

"Ah, the smithy's been runnin' around like no tomorrow since the attack. I offered ta help him keep this place goin' while he does the deliveries."

"Deliveries?"

"The main armoury's been destroyed, m'boy. He's been gettin' orders for new weapons from all over. But enough of that, I wanna know what's been happenin' with ya! So, what's crackin' nowadays?"

"Well…" Link said no more as Thorn's head protruded through the doorway, giving McCarp a sudden fright.

"ACK! Link, what-?!" The blonde boy chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head before moving his hand to stroke the Giant. "Boy, is that Dragon…yours?" Link nodded and began to explain what happened in the Giant's Sanctuary, however he wasn't able to finish due to the old man's scolding.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I've already apologized to-" Link said, cutting himself off.

"To…?" McCarp raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Uh, several people already. Listen, I know this sounds a little odd, but going into the Sanctuary just might have saved my life." McCarp stayed silent, indicating for Link to continue. "If I hadn't come across Thorn-Vine here, then he probably would have killed me during the attack."

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense." His tone suddenly lightened up, returning to its former jolly atmosphere. "Well, I bet Zelda's impressed of him! Where is that gal, anyway? I'm surprised she ain't with you."

Link inhaled sharply and froze on the spot, tears stinging at his eyes once more. _Three Goddesses, I really need to get over this whole emotional thing,_ he thought, angry that he was about to let himself cry again. He looked down and let out his breath, swallowing his negativity and gathering the strength to tell the fisherman the rest of the story. The elderly man's jaw dropped upon hearing that Zelda was carried off.

"There was nothing I could do… Goddesses, I feel so helpless right now…" Link finished, hugging his torso and squeezing his eyes shut to stop the salty water. Thorn purred with sympathy and gently nudged his companion for reassurance.

"Oh boy, the captain's gonna be grievin' for months, he is."

Link looked up at McCarp with sad eyes. "…Her father's gone, too…"

"HE WHAT?!"

"We were up on the Great Tree. There were flames all around us…and the branch started to break…"

McCarp was left speechless. Link hoped that the silence didn't mean that the fisherman was mad at him for all eternity now.

"…Oh, what dark times have befallen us…" McCarp said at last. "Well, it appears that there's nothin' we can do about it now, son. At least there's the hope that poor Zelda's still alive n' all."

"Do you really think she is?"

"Boy, ta worry is ta pray for a future ya don't want. As long as ya believe she is, then all will be fine."

" _ **He has a pretty good point,**_ " Thorn added from the doorway.

"Ah, and before I forget, let me know if that Dragon o' yours says anythin' about me that I won't approve of." McCarp winked at Link, earning a hearty chuckle from the boy and an annoyed growl from Thorn.

" _ **Watch it, old man. My bite is worse than my bark.**_ "

Link laughed even harder upon hearing his Dragon's response.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Mr. McCarp," Link said, shaking the elder's hand.

"No problem, m'boy. Say, what is it that _you're_ here for? Surely not another weapon."

The young Hylian shook his head and held up the skulltula shell.

"I'm here for a Dragon Whistle, actually. But since the smithy's not here, I suppose I should come back later."

McCarp gasped melodramatically and exaggerated a look of hurt.

"Ya want the _smithy_ to make a Dragon Whistle for ya? Why, he only specializes in weapons. It's this ol' barnacle that knows how ta make _real_ Dragon Whistles!" Link shot him a look of disbelief. "Have ya forgotten that I've seen many generations pass? I made my first when I was about ten! Back then ya had ta do everythin' yourself if ya wanted ta learn. I'm the best in the business!"

The blonde blinked several times. "…I thought the smithy made Whistles?"

"Naw, he don't know nothin' about craftin' such beauties. 'Tis I who knows what's what. People have been comin' ta me for many a year to get their precious instrument made."

"Oh, well then! Make me a Dragon Whistle!" Link replied, smiling with glee and handing McCarp the shell.

"I thought you'd never ask!" He hobbled over to an anvil at the back of the room and placed the shell down while he grabbed the necessary tools. "'Tis gonna take a bit of time, boy, so why not entertain yaself for a while, eh?"

Link nodded and thanked him before exiting the blacksmith.

"HEYYY, LIIINK!" The boy clad in green turned to the unexpected voice. Not long after he and Thorn left McCarp to work, they bumped into a Zora that had to make a last water delivery to another section of the Earth Realm, but it was too heavy for his Dragon to carry, so he asked Link if Thorn-Vine could deliver it instead. The Giant Dragon agreed, and so now Link was leaning against a small tree waiting for his scaly companion's return. The voice that called out to him was none other than Pokot; his extensive knowledge of Dragons was probably what kept him alive. The serpent-nerd landed his Dragon next to Link and slid off. He approached the bored-looking teen with a look of concern.

"Pokot! I'm glad to see you made it," Link started with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, last night was hectic, huh?" Pokot replied. "Hey, listen, I just came by to see how you were doing. I heard what happened and…I'm so sorry. It can't be easy with the attack that took place either."

Link sighed and looked down. "Don't be, it's not your fault. I'm the one who allowed it to happen, and I highly doubt I can do anything about it right now. I talked to Mr. McCarp about it and he helped me get over it a little."

"Ah, that's good then. That you talked to McCarp, I mean. I know that you and Druid were close, and a bond that special most likely won't be easy to replace, let alone forget."

"Oh, wait, you were talking about Druid?"

Pokot raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh, yeah? What else?"

"Uhm, okay then, never mind."

"…Is there something going on here?" Pokot continued to press Link for this lie that he had now caught him in. "If you don't tell me I'm going to assume that you killed Druid yourself. It would explain why you're so nonchalant about it."

Link waved his hands in front of him in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I swear to Din I didn't do anything to hurt Druid! It was a dumb rock that fell on his head during the training program; how was I supposed to make that fall if I was riding him?"

"Hmm, good point. Okay, proven innocent."

Pokot's Dragon, Equinox, gave a small roar from behind them, indicating that he was talking to his rider.

"What did he say?" Link asked.

"He reminded me to ask you what's the real reason you're sulking right now."

"Ah." Link hesitated before continuing, contemplating on how to bring the news. He decided to just be blunt with it. "…Zelda's gone."

Pokot seemed to freeze in time as he was processing what he just heard.

"So she's…gone, gone?"

"No, at least I hope not. She was carried off by that huge Giant Dragon that attacked the Earth Realm. That was the last I ever saw of her."

The knowledgeable youth turned and looked up at the sky as if Zelda were about to fall from it.

"I see. But why wasn't she killed?"

"That's what I was hoping you would know."

Pokot brought both of his hands to his face and began pacing slightly. "Oh man… I know this is going to sound a little morbid, but being kept alive probably isn't a good thing." Link looked at him as if he had just eaten a pile of mud filled with worms and slugs. "Yeah, I know. But if she wasn't killed it's most likely because she's needed for something, and judging by last night, if whoever's behind this succeeds, we're done for."

Link's breath hitched. "…Needed for something? Needed…for what?"

"How should I know?"

Now Link REALLY began to panic.

"Oh no… No, no, no, nononononono…" He gripped his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. He did his best to maintain his composure on the outside, but inside, he was a monkey lit on fire performing a crazed dance on ice. "This can't be happening… Pokot… WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO? WHERE COULD SHE BE BE? WHAT'S EVEN HAPPENING TO HER? ISSHEOKAYOHGODDESSESIHAVETOFINDHERNOW!" The panicking teenager had lost it was now running in circles, getting right up in Pokot's frightened face every now and then.

"Link! Calm down, will you?!"

Link couldn't help himself however. Knowing that Zelda was possibly in a worse situation that he had previously thought gripped his heart and punched his mind.

" _Yes, please, calm down…_ " said a voice.

"HOW CAN I-" The blonde stopped abruptly, his eyes still wide as ever though. "…Did you hear that…?" he asked the Dragon-nerd.

"Hear what? Your intolerable ranting?"

"No, that voice just now!"

"Uh, yeah. I think you're getting a little loopy. You probably haven't slept much, so why don't you head somewhere you can catch some winks?"

"I'm not going crazy! I swear I heard something just now."

Pokot only shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. "Mmhmm, sure. Just – GIANT!"

Link looked up at the sky upon hearing Pokot's sudden scream and waved at the incoming Dragon. Thorn-Vine landed with a thud beside Link and looked like he had just flown a marathon. Equinox screeched in terror and flapped his wings in a desperate attempt to back away from the large lizard.

" _ **Link, are you okay? I heard a voice telling me to return to you as soon as possible!**_ " the Giant asked with worried roars.

"I…what? You heard a voice too?" Thorn's rider replied.

"WAIT. JUST. ONE. SECOND. HERE," Pokot exclaimed, holding one index finger in the air. "YOU'RE BONDED WITH A GIANT DRAGON?!"

"Um, yup."

The intelligent boy rubbed his temples as he tried to piece together the sight before him.

"Okay, one: just HOW is that possible? Two: that explains why you aren't worked up over Druid anymore, and three: OH GREAT BLESSINGS OF DIN, NAYRU AND FARORE AND IN THAT ORDER, I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH AN ADVANCED EVOLUTIONARY BUILD!" He dashed up to Thorn and held open one of his wings. "Just look at the placement of the scales! The way each are curved to allow wind to pass by just like an eagle's feathers! Ooh! And the horns! This has to be the toughest form of keratin in existence!" He tapped his knuckles on the handle-like horns and stared at them as if they were a secret stash of silver rupees.

"… _ **Am I really that astonishing?**_ " Thorn asked Link with a quizzical look upon his face.

"I guess you are," Link replied with a chuckle.

" _ **Your friend is scaring me.**_ "

Link laughed hysterically at Thorn's face. The Dragon's eyes were wide and looked at Pokot like he was a cockroach that wouldn't leave you alone. The teen in green decided to help his Dragon out after his little laughing fit.

"Okay, Pokot, we've established that my Soul Dragon is cool-looking. Now would you mind giving him some space?"

The slightly younger boy turned to Link with wide eyes. "How are you acting so casually?! You know as well as I do that you can't be bound to more than one Dragon! Even if it's a Giant!"

"But Druid's dead! With no soul bound to me anymore, I can bind to Thorn if I want to."

"It doesn't matter that Druid's dead!" Link's mouth was held agape as he stared in shock. Pokot interrupted him just as he was about to reply. "A Soul-Binding is eternal, even after death."

"But…that makes no sense…"

Pokot looked up at Thorn directly in the eye. "Do you sense a bond at all?"

The Dragon shook his head.

"He already told me that, which only adds to my confusion," Link added.

Silence endured between the three. Pokot had one index finger on his chin with his eyes closed in thought, Link rested his forehead in his hand trying to process this new information, and Thorn-Vine's gaze continuously flickered between the two teenagers and Equinox, who was still eyeing him warily with a slight hint of jealously.

" _Do you wish for answers?_ " Link's head shot up as he heard the voice again. He looked to Thorn-Vine to see if the Dragon had heard it too, and from the look on his face, it was definite. " _Come find me… The grove where leaves cut rock and fire burns water…_ _Where light never fades and petals never wilt… Find…the Sacred Realm…_ "

The voice resonated with the echoes of lost souls and sounded with the beauty of a bird's song. It was a dirtied wave of silk that wrapped around Link and Thorn's minds, giving the feeling of pure relaxation as well as the insecurity of a task not yet completed.

Boy and Dragon looked to each other, searching their eyes for the determination that they both yearned for. Once they found it, Link made no hesitation in climbing atop the Giant and situating himself comfortably on the scaly back.

"Whoa, wait, where are you off to?" Pokot asked, breaking out of his trance.

"Sorry, Pok, but there's something we have to do," Link replied, motioning for Thorn to begin taking off. The Giant spread open his magnificent wings and, with one graceful beat, lifted into the ever-blue skies.


End file.
